Systems and methods for determining shrinkage of a commodity

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for determining shrinkage of a commodity sold by a store are provided which may include: identifying data indicative of a volume of the commodity, associating a label with a container that holds the commodity, collecting the label information with a reader and transmitting collected label information to at least one server, automatically determining data characterizing the material in the container, associating the label information and the data characterizing the material in the container, and determining performance data related to the commodity by comparing the data indicative of the volume of the commodity supplied to the store, the data indicative of the volume of the commodity sold by the store, and the data characterizing the material in the container.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/204,090 (FEED-0005-U01), filed Jul. 7, 2016.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/204,090 claims the benefit of U.S.provisional patent application 62/190,055 (FEED-0001-P01), filed Jul. 8,2015.

Each of the above applications is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure generally relates to computing and informationtechnology systems, devices, and methods for collecting, managing,measuring, and tracking recyclable and waste materials and providingfeedback on the material collected for the purposes of billing,compliance assurance, performance assessment, and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many commercial organizations undertake recycling initiatives withassociated goals and incentives. However, in the case of largeorganizations, such as where the material for recycling may be collectedfrom a plurality of stores and locations, with today's limitedinformation technology infrastructure it may be difficult to track howindividual stores are performing, individually or relative to oneanother, with respect to recycling efficiency and goal compliance. Alarge organization that uses a distribution center for the receipt,temporary storage, and redistribution of goods and materials may be ableto obtain measurements made at the distribution center that indicate thetotal amount of material received in a given period from stores in achain, but with current systems it can be difficult to identify therelative contribution made by each of the different stores. In suchcases, different stores may be allocated equal or proportionate creditfor recycling based on the total amount of material, without regard toeach individual store's actual contribution. As a result, individualstores may not be rewarded or penalized based on their actualperformance, relative to organizational goals of recycling, which maytend to cause individual stores to undertake only minimal efforts and inturn tend to diminish aggregate success. In the absence of the means toadequately track recycling efforts, or in the absence of success ofthose efforts, some organizations and stores may chose not to implement,or to abandon, a recycling or backhauling program. Such challenges arecompounded in situations where waste material takes different forms; forexample, grocery organizations may have organic waste of various types,materials that are subject to deposit regulations (like deposit soda andbeer bottles), and a variety of packaging materials and containers, suchas cardboard boxes, glass containers, plastic containers of varioussizes, shapes, and constituent materials. Each different kind ofmaterial may be subject to distinct regulations, pricing agreements, andother requirements, such that a need exists to track and manage eachdifferent material separately from other materials. However, currentsystems for tracking such information are inadequate, requiring manualtracking of information by untrained employees and lacking facilitiesfor rapid, efficient collection, integration, and analysis of data ofdisparate types for large numbers of stores.

In situations where third party providers transport recyclables, organicwaste, trash and the like for smaller organizations on the returnportion of a delivery trip (referred to herein in some cases as“backhaul”), the difficulties associated with adequately trackingmaterial returned by different stores are magnified, as owners may haveno effective mechanism for obtaining information about the nature of thecontents of a backhaul trip from the third party.

A need exists for methods and systems that help stores, enterprises,transport service providers and the like adequately track andcharacterize the material handled in streams of recyclable and wastematerial.

SUMMARY

In accordance with exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, systems,methods and devices are provided for tracking and managing wastematerials, which may include one or more devices enabled to recordinformation (such as from a bar code, label or the like) about thehandling of waste material at a point in a distribution chain, as wellas information technology systems for collecting, processing, analyzingand otherwise managing information about a large number and variety ofstreams of waste material, such as from various originating sources.

The present disclosure describes a system for tracking waste orrecyclable material in a transported material stream and providing atleast one of billing information, credit information, and reportinginformation with respect to the material, wherein the system accordingto one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure mauinclude a label associated with a batch of waste or recyclable materialat an originating site, the label including label information and beingassociated with at least one of the batch of material and a containerfor the material at the originating site, the label informationcomprising at least one of identifier information identifying theoriginating site and information about the material, a label reader at amaterial handling site that is remote from the originating site and iscapable of reading the label information on the label, and acommunications facility for communicating to a server the labelinformation read by the label reader, wherein the server uses the labelinformation to report or determine, with respect to the material,specific information about at least one of the type and the amount ofthe material.

In embodiments, the specific information relates to the amount of thematerial and at least one of a credit owed and an obligation owed.

In embodiments, information reported by the server further comprises atleast one of: an amount of recycled material, a type of the material, anowner of the facility that produced the material, a time of originationof the material, a transporter of the material, a time of transportationof the material, an image of the material, a weight of the material, atemperature of the material, a volume of the material, and a location ofhandling of the material.

In embodiments, a forklift is configured to handle the material, or acontainer for the material is configured to be handled by a forklift.

In embodiments, information reported by the server about the materialincludes information about the transport of the material.

In embodiments, the information about the transport of the materialcomprises at least one of: a pick-up location, a time of pick-up, adrop-off location, a time of drop-off, a duration of transport, atemperature of the material during transport, a weight of the material,and a weight at a particular time.

In embodiments, the system further comprises an image processingsubsystem for acquiring an image of at least one of the material and acontainer for the material, wherein the image is used in a complianceanalysis.

In embodiments, the compliance analysis includes at least one of: adetermination of presence or absence of contaminants in the material,such as with the use of an image capture system, a determination ofproper or improper container assembly, a determination of proper orimproper liner set-up, such as with the use of an image capture system,a determination of whether temperature of the material is within apredetermined range, and a determination of compliance or noncompliancewith regulations.

In embodiments, the system further includes an image processingsubsystem for acquiring an image of at least one of the material and acontainer for the material, wherein the server uses the image todetermine a nature of the material and associates the nature of thematerial with information about the origination and handling of thematerial.

In embodiments, the system further includes a scale to determine aweight of the material.

In embodiments, the same or a different server tracks information withrespect to a plurality of batches of material to determine at least oneof a net credit and a net obligation with respect to the plurality ofbatches.

The present disclosure describes a system for tracking material in atransported waste stream and providing information with respect to thematerial, the method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodimentof the present disclosure can include a label associated with a batch ofwaste or recyclable material at an originating site, the label includinglabel information and being associated with at least one of the batch ofmaterial and a container for the material at the originating site, thelabel information comprising at least one of identifier informationidentifying the originating site and information about the material, alabel reader at a material handling site that is remote from theoriginating site and is capable of reading the label information on thelabel; and a communications facility for communicating to a server thelabel information read by the label reader, wherein the server uses thelabel information to determine analytics with respect to the material.

In embodiments, the information with respect to the material includes atleast one of a credit owed, an obligation owed, reporting information,destination site, type of material, and classifications.

In embodiments, the analytics include analyzed information of thematerial including a cost analysis, a time analysis, and an efficiencyanalysis.

The present disclosure describes a device for transporting waste orrecyclable material, the device according to one disclosed non-limitingembodiment of the present disclosure may include a base and acollapsible sleeve movable between an open state and a collapsed state,wherein the collapsible sleeve in the open state interfaces in a nestingmanner with the base to form a bin for receiving and transporting wastematerial.

In embodiments, the collapsible sleeve in the collapsed state and thebase are adapted to function as a pallet for transportation of goods.

In embodiments, the base has an interface adapted to allow the device tobe lifted by at least one of: a fork lift and a pallet jack.

In embodiments, the base comprises an attachment mechanism to secure thecollapsible sleeve in the open state to the base.

In embodiments, the collapsible sleeve comprises at least one of plasticand cardboard material.

In embodiments, the collapsible sleeve is collapsible with a z-fold suchthat it may be contained within the outer edges of the base.

In embodiments, the collapsed state of the collapsible sleeve allows thebase and the collapsed sleeve to be transported together like a standardwooden palette.

In embodiments, the device further comprises a cover, wherein the coveris integral to or separate from the collapsible sleeve and fits on topof the open collapsible sleeve.

In embodiments, the base, the open collapsible sleeve and the covertogether are stackable on another similar device.

In embodiments, the collapsible sleeve in the collapsed state fitswithin the cover.

In embodiments, the collapsible sleeve, when in the collapsed state, andthe cover fit within the outer edges of the base for transport.

In embodiments, the collapsible sleeve, when in the collapsed state, thecover, and the base are attachable together for transport.

In embodiments, the cover comprises an exterior frame that fits over aperipheral edge of the open collapsible sleeve and a hinged interiorportion.

In embodiments, the base forms a reservoir for containing a liquidportion of the waste material.

In embodiments, the reservoir comprises one or more channels.

In embodiments, the one or more channels comprise a plurality ofchannels along an exterior edge of the base, each of the plurality ofchannels having a corresponding lip.

In embodiments, the collapsible sleeve has notches in bottom edges toaccommodate the plurality of channels.

In embodiments, the device further comprises a disposable liner adaptedto be disposed within the open collapsible sleeve to provide lining forthe interior of the bin.

In embodiments, the collapsible sleeve has an opening to accommodate anattachment mechanism of the base.

In embodiments, the collapsible sleeve comprises a location indicatorfor placement of at least one of an RFID tag, a GPS tracker and an assettracker.

In embodiments, at least the interior of the collapsible sleeve iscoated by a wax coating.

In embodiments, the device further comprises at least one of an RFIDtag, a GPS tracker and an asset tracker.

In embodiments, the base and the collapsible sleeve are adapted forrepeated use as a bin for transporting waste or recyclable material.

The present disclosure describes a method of a system for tracking wasteor recyclable material, wherein the system according to one disclosednon-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure may include an imagingdevice for capturing an image of at least one of a batch of waste orrecyclable material and any bin for the material, wherein the imagingdevice is located at or on at least one of the originating site, atransport device for the material, and a material handling site that isremote from the originating site, wherein the imaging device isassociated with at least one communications facility for communicatingwith a system that tracks the batch of material, and wherein the imagecaptured by the imaging device is sent with information enabling thecaptured image to be associated with at least one of a batch of waste orrecyclable material and a bin for the material.

In embodiments, a portion of the material is organic material.

In embodiments, the system further comprises a label configured to beassociated with the batch of material, wherein the label comprises anidentifier including at least one of information identifying theoriginating site and information about the batch of material and a labelreader at a material handling site that is remote from the originatingsite and is capable of reading the identifier on the label, the labelreader associated with a first communications facility for communicatingthe information read by the label reader to a server, wherein the systemthat tracks the batch of material in the bin associates the imagecaptured by the imaging device with the label.

In embodiments, the captured image of the material may be processed toidentify at least one of: an estimate of the temperature of organicmaterial, a presence of inorganic material, an estimate of the percentof inorganic material, an estimate of the number of inorganic items, anestimate of the type of inorganic items, an estimate of volume ofmaterial, an estimate of weight of the material, an estimate of thequality of the material, and an estimate of the age of the organicmaterial.

In embodiments, the imaging device is sensitive to infrared wavelengths.

In embodiments, the captured image may be used to document the qualityof material received at the material handling site.

In embodiments, the information about the batch of material includesinformation about the destination of the material.

In embodiments, the information about the batch of material includesinformation about the destination of the material.

In embodiments, the information about the batch of material comprises atleast one of: a type of the material, a facility that produced thematerial, a time of origination of the material, a transporter of thematerial, a time of transportation of the material, a transportduration, an image of the material, a weight of the material, atemperature of the material, a volume of the material, and a location ofhandling of the material.

In embodiments, the system further includes a liner for the bin, whereinthe label is attached to the liner.

In embodiments, the label is attached to the bin.

In embodiments, the bin is configured to be handled by a forklift.

In embodiments, the system further comprises a scale for weighing thebin to determine a weight of the material.

The present disclosure describes a system for tracking a batch of wasteor recyclable material, wherein the system according to one disclosednon-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure may include a labelreader for reading a label that was associated with the batch ofmaterial at the originating site, a device for measuring a parameterindicative of the weight of the batch of material and a communicationsfacility for communicating the weight of the batch of material and thelabel information to a system for tracking the batch of waste material.

In embodiments, the scale measures the weight of the material by using atransport device that transports the batch of material.

In embodiments, the device for measuring a parameter indicative of theweight of the batch is positioned on a transport device that transportsthe batch of material.

In embodiments, the parameter indicative of the weight of the item is atleast one operating parameter of at least one operating system on thetransport device.

In embodiments, the at least one operating parameter is at least one ofa pressure associated with a lifting system of the transport device, aload measured in the lifting system of the transport device, a powerrequirement of a power system of the transport device, and an operatingparameter of a motor of the transport device. In embodiments, a weightof a subsequent batch of material is determined by using historical datafrom a plurality of batches of the same material type as the batch ofmaterial to determine a weight for the batch of material, such as bycalculating an average weight of batches of the same material from theoriginating site.

In embodiments, the scale is a drive-through scale that measures theweight of the material by measuring the weight of the material and atransport device that transports the material over the scale andsubtracting the weight of the transport device.

In embodiments, the scale is located at a material handling site that isremote from the originating site.

In embodiments, the system further comprises a bin to hold the material.

In embodiments, the system further comprises a liner in the bin.

In embodiments, the label is affixed to the liner.

In embodiments, the bin is configured to be handled by a forklift.

In embodiments, the information about the material includes informationabout the transport of the material.

In embodiments, the information about the material includes informationabout the destination of the material.

In embodiments, the information about the material comprises at leastone of: a type of the waste material, an owner of the facility thatproduced the waste material, a time of origination of the wastematerial, a transporter of the waste material, a time of transportationof the waste material, an image of the waste material, a weight of thewaste material, a temperature of the waste material, a volume of thewaste material, and a location of handling of the waste material.

In embodiments, the system further comprises a bin to hold the material,and wherein the scale is a drive-through scale that measures the weightof the material by measuring the weight of the material, the bin, andthe transport device that transports the material over the scale andsubtracting the weight of the bin and the transport device.

The present disclosure describes a system for tracking a batch of wasteor recyclable material the method according to one disclosednon-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure can include a labelreader for reading a label that was associated with the batch ofmaterial at the originating site, a scale for determining the weight ofthe batch of material, wherein the scale is a drive-through scale thatmeasures the weight of the material by measuring the weight of atransport device loaded with the material and subtracting the weight ofthe transport device and a communications facility for communicating theweight of the batch of material and the label information to a systemfor tracking the batch of waste material.

The present disclosure describes a system for tracking organic materialin a waste stream, wherein the system according to one disclosednon-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure may include a labelassociated with a batch of waste material at an originating site,wherein at least a portion of the batch of waste material is organicmaterial and wherein the label comprises label information identifyingat least one of the originating site and information about the batch ofwaste material, a label reader at a waste handling site that is remotefrom the originating site and is capable of reading the labelinformation on the label, a characterizing device for determining atleast one characteristic of the batch of waste material and acommunications facility for communicating to a server the labelinformation read by the label reader and the determined at least onecharacteristic of the batch of waste material, wherein the server usesthe label information and the at least one characteristic to provide auser with data about the organic material in the batch of the wastematerial.

In embodiments, a forklift is configured to handle the batch ofmaterial, or a bin for the batch of material is configured to be handledby a forklift.

In embodiments, the characterizing device comprises an image processingsubsystem for acquiring an image of at least one of the material and abin for the material. In embodiments, the acquired image is used fordocumenting the nature of the batch of waste material or a condition ofthe bin. In embodiments, the server for the processing facility mayassociate the information about the nature of the waste material withinformation about the origination and handling of the bin. Inembodiments, a condition of the bin may include a determination as towhether the bin has been properly assembled, whether a liner is inplace, or the like, or other compliance determinations.

In embodiments, the system further comprises a device for measuring aparameter indicative of the weight of the waste material.

In embodiments, the information about the batch of the waste materialincludes information about the transport of the waste material,comprising at least one of: a pick-up location, a time of pick-up, adrop-off location, a time of drop-off, a duration of transport, atemperature of the batch of waste material during transport, a weight ofthe material, and a weight at a particular time.

In embodiments, the information about the waste material includesinformation about the destination of the waste material.

In embodiments, the information about the batch of waste materialcomprises at least one of: a type of the waste material, an owner of thefacility that produced the waste material, a time of origination of thewaste material, a transporter of the waste material, a time oftransportation of the waste material, an image of the waste material, aweight of the waste material, a temperature of the waste material, avolume of the waste material, and a location of handling of the wastematerial.

The present disclosure describes a system for tracking waste orrecyclable material, wherein the system according to one disclosednon-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure may include a labelfor a batch of material generated at an originating site, the labelbeing associated with at least one of the material and any container forthe material at the originating site, the label comprising an identifierincluding at least one of information identifying the originating siteand information about the material, a label reader at a materialhandling site that is remote from the originating site and is capable ofreading the identifier on the label, the label reader associated with acommunications facility for communicating information to a server.

In embodiments, the information communicated to the server includes atleast one of: a timestamp associated with a label, a type of material,an amount of material, a read rate associated with a label, an absenceof a label, data from more than one label, an image of the material anddata associated with at least one of signal strength and signaldirection associated with each label read.

In embodiments, the server uses at least some of the receivedinformation to at least one of: verify that a label was read, determinean absence of a label on the batch of material, disambiguate between theuse of the same label for different batches of material, disambiguatebetween the presence of more than one label on the same material inorder to identify the correct label information for a particularshipment of material, disambiguate between material on a forklift andmaterial near the forklift, and disambiguate the association of thelabel with additional measurements made on the material.

In embodiments, the server uses historical data from a plurality ofbatches of the same material type to determine a weight for the batch ofthe material.

In embodiments, the information about the material includes informationabout the transport of the material.

In embodiments, wherein the information about the material includesinformation about the destination of the material.

In embodiments, the system further comprises an image processingsubsystem for documenting the nature of the material in the container.

In embodiments, the server for the processing facility associates theinformation about the nature of the material with the information aboutthe origination and handling of the container for the batch of material.

In embodiments, the system further comprises a scale for determining aweight of the material.

In embodiments, the information about the material comprises at leastone of: a type of the material, a composition of the material, an ownerof the facility that produced the material, a time of origination of thematerial, a transporter of the material, a time of transportation of thematerial, an image of the waste material, a weight of the wastematerial, a temperature of the waste material, a volume of the wastematerial, and a location of handling of the waste material.

The present disclosure describes a forklift system adapted to collectand report information about items handled by a forklift, wherein theforklift system according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment ofthe present disclosure may include: a forklift, an RFID reader with atleast one antenna positioned at least one of on and in proximity to theforklift, wherein the at least one antenna of the RFID reader ispositioned to read RFID information from at least one RFID tagpositioned on an item handled by the forklift, a device for measuring aparameter indicative of the weight of the item handled by the forklift;and a processing facility with a server for associating the informationread by the RFID reader and the parameter indicative of the weight ofthe item.

In embodiments, the server further associates the information from theRFID reader with timestamp information that indicates a time of thehandling of the item by the forklift.

In embodiments, the device for measuring the parameter indicative of theweight of the item is at least one of a drive-on scale and adrive-through scale.

In embodiments, the device for measuring the parameter indicative of theweight of the item is positioned on the forklift.

In embodiments, the parameter indicative of the weight of the item is atleast one operating parameter of at least one operating system of theforklift.

In embodiments, the at least one operating parameter is at least one ofa pressure associated with a lifting system of the forklift, a loadmeasured in the lifting system of the forklift, a power requirement of apower system of the forklift, and an operating parameter of a motor ofthe forklift.

In embodiments, the forklift system further includes a communicationsfacility of the forklift for communicating the information captured byat least one of the RFID reader and the device for measuring weight tothe server.

In embodiments, the forklift system further includes a camera forcapturing an image of the item handled by the forklift, wherein at leastone of the captured image and information from the captured image isassociated with the information captured by the RFID reader.

In embodiments, a communications facility communicates at least one ofthe captured image and information from the captured image to theserver.

Disclosed herein are methods and systems for tracking returned material.

Such methods and systems may include a labeler for attaching an RFIDlabel representative of origination site to each unit of material forreturn; an RFID reader for reading an RFID label on each unit ofmaterial; and a logic and data storage module for associating each unitof returned material with originating site. Such methods and systems mayfurther include a communications module in communication with ananalytic server.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for tracking returnedmaterial. Such methods and systems may include a labeler for attaching abar code label representative of origination site to each unit ofmaterial; a bar code scanner for reading the label on each unit ofmaterial; and a logic and data storage module for associating each unitof returned material with originating site. Such methods and systems mayfurther include a communications module in communication with ananalytic server.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for automatic billing.Such methods and systems may include a labeler to label units ofmaterial at an originating site; a reader to read labels at distributionsystem; a characterization device for characterizing each unit ofmaterial; a logic and data storage module for associating each labelinformation from each unit of material with data characteristic of theunit material; and an analytic server to associate material data withoriginating site and automatically generate on of a bill and a creditfor the originating site based on the units of material moved fromoriginating site to distribution center. In embodiments thecharacterization device may be one of a scale, a thermal sensor, animaging device, an odor sensor, and a noise sensor.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for awarding credit forrecyclable material. Such methods and systems may include a labeler toplace labels on units of recyclable materials at an originating site; areader to read labels at distribution system; a characterization devicefor characterizing each unit of material; a logic and data storagemodule for associating label information from each unit of material withdata characteristic for each unit material; and a facility for awardingcredit to the originating site based on obtained information. Inembodiments the recyclable materials are one of cardboard, Styrofoam,corrugated cardboard, plastics, PET plastics, waxed cardboard, glass,plastic film, plastic bags, newspapers, waste paper, Steel and Aluminumcans, foam, scrap metal, shrink wrap, food donation, organics, foodwaste and trash. In embodiments the label comprises one of an RFID tag,a barcode, a QR code, and an alphanumeric sequence. In embodiments thereader comprises one of RFID reader, a barcode scanner, and an imagingdevice. In embodiments the characterization device is one of a scale, athermal sensor, an imaging device, an odor sensor, and a noise sensor.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for allocating penaltiesfor recyclable material. Such methods and systems may include a labelerto place labels on units of recyclable materials at an originating site;a reader to read labels at distribution system; a characterizationdevice for characterizing each unit of material; a logic and datastorage module for associating label information from each unit ofmaterial with data characteristic for each unit material; and a facilityfor allocating a penalty to the originating site based on obtainedinformation. In embodiments the recyclable materials are one ofcardboard, Styrofoam, corrugated cardboard, plastics, PET plastics,waxed cardboard, glass, plastic film, plastic bags, newspapers, wastepaper, Steel and Aluminum cans, foam, scrap metal, shrink wrap, fooddonation, organics, food waste and trash. In embodiments the labelcomprises one of an RFID tag, a barcode, a QR code, and an alphanumericsequence. In embodiments the reader comprises one of RFID reader, abarcode scanner, and an imaging device. In embodiments thecharacterization device is one of a scale, a thermal sensor, an imagingdevice, an odor sensor, and a noise sensor.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for evaluating a storeperformance. Such methods and systems may include a labeler to placelabels on units of recyclable materials at an originating site; a readerto read labels at distribution system; a characterization device forcharacterizing each unit of material; a logic and data storage modulefor associating label information from each unit of material with datacharacteristic for each unit material; and a communications module fortransmitting label information and characteristic data to an analyticserver, the analytic server enabled to compare performance of oneoriginating site with other originating sites.

Also provided herein are methods and systems for evaluating a storeperformance. Such methods and systems may include identifying a peer setof stores based one at least one of size, sales, location, pieces moved,division and employee count; automatically tracking returned materialusing a labeler at each store and a reader at the distribution center;calculating store waste based on at least one of weight of organicmaterials returned, volume of organic material returned; and calculatingstore performance relative to stores in peer set of stores.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for tracking returnedmaterial. Such methods and systems may include a labeler for attachingan RFID tag. Such methods and systems may include informationidentifying the origination site of each unit of material for returnwherein each RFID tag a comprises GPS tracker; an RFID reader at returncenter for reading an RFID tag on each unit; a logic and data storagemodule for associating each label information from each unit of materialwith data characteristic of the unit material; a communication modulefor transferring label information and GPS data to a analytic server;and an analytic server for tracking returned material from originationsite through return center.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for documenting storeshrinkage of commodity. Such methods and systems may include identifyingvolume of commodity supplied to store based on store orders calculatingvolume of commodity sold based on sales receipts; capturing volume ofcommodity recycled based on information from recycling center; andidentifying shrinkage based on difference between supplied commodity andcombination of sold and recycled commodity.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for monitoring compliancewith organic storage regulations. Such methods and systems may include alabeler to label units of organic material at an originating site; areader to read label at distribution system; an imager for capturing adigital thermal image of the content of the unit of material; and alogic and data storage module for associating label information fromeach unit of material with captured thermal image data of said unit ofmaterial and estimating the temperature of the organic material based onthe digital image.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for recycling coffeegrounds. Such methods and systems may include a container fortransporting ground coffee; a labeler for attaching a label to thecontainer at the originating site each label. Such methods and systemsmay include information identifying the origination site; a forkliftadapted to carry the container; a reader for reading the label on thecontainer; a scale for assessing the weight of coffee grounds in thecontainer; and a logic and data storage module for associatinginformation from the label of each container with assessed weight of thecoffee grounds in the container.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for tracking wasteorganics. Such methods and systems may include a bin; a bin liner havingan embedded RIFD tag identifying the originating site; an RFID reader ata destination site; a characterization device for characterizing eachbin of waste organics; a logic and data storage module for associatinglabel information from each bin of waste organics with datacharacteristic of the bin of waste organics; and a communications modulefor transmitting label information and characteristic data to ananalytic server.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for evaluating a storeperformance. Such methods and systems may include a labeler to placelabels on units of recyclable materials at an originating site; a readerto read labels at distribution system; a characterization device forcharacterizing each unit of recyclable material; a logic and datastorage module for associating label information from each unit ofmaterial with data characteristic for each unit material; and acommunications module for transmitting label information andcharacteristic data to an analytic server, the analytic server enabledto calculate a store incentive based on at least one of weight, volumeand quality of recycle material relative to a defined group of stores.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for evaluating a storeperformance. Such methods and systems may include identifying a peer setof stores based one at least one of size, sales, location, pieces moved,and employee count; automatically tracking returned material using alabeler at each store and a reader at the distribution center;evaluating store recyclable material on at least one of weight ofrecyclable materials, volume of recyclable material and quality ofrecyclable material; and calculating a store incentive based on at leastone of weight, volume and quality of recycle material relative to a peerset of stores.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for recycling. Suchmethods and systems may include an RFID labeler to place RFID tags onunits of materials at an originating site; a RFID reader to read RFIDtags at distribution system; a characterization device forcharacterizing each unit of material; and a logic and data storagemodule for associating RFID tag information from each unit of materialwith data characteristic for each unit material.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for identifying an RFIDtag associated with a unit of return material. Such methods and systemsmay include reading RFID tags at multiple locations such as at thesource location, during transport to a distribution center, at aplurality of locations within a distribution center and locations towhich the units of material may be sent beyond the distribution center;identifying RFID tags read each time; identifying whether RFID tags arealready associated with data; and selecting RFID tag with strongestsignal.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for tracking returnedmaterial. Such methods and systems may include an RFID labeler to placeRFID tags on units of materials at an originating site; an RFID readerto read RFID tags at a distribution system; a drive through scaleenabled to communicate measured weight with a logic and data storagemodule; and a logic and data storage module for associating RFID taginformation from each unit of material with measured weight.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for tracking returnedmaterial. Such methods and systems may include an RFID labeler to placeRFID tags on units of materials at an originating site; an RFID readerto read RFID tags at a distribution system; at least one of an imagesensor and an audio sensor enabled to capture data about a unit ofmaterial and communicate captured data with a logic and data storagemodule; and a logic and data storage module for associating RFID taginformation from each unit of material with captured data.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for documenting quality ofreturn material. Such methods and systems may include an RFID labeler toplace RFID tags on units of materials at an originating site; an RFIDreader to read RFID tags at a distribution system; an imager positionedto capture one or more images of the return material enabled tocommunicate captured image data to a logic and data storage module; anda logic and data storage module for associating RFID tag informationfrom each unit of material with captured image data.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for documenting quality ofreturn material. Such methods and systems may include a labeler to placelabels on units of materials at an originating site; a reader to readlabels on a unit of material at a distribution system; an imagerpositioned to capture one or more images of the return material enabledto communicate captured image data to a logic and data storage module;and a logic and data storage module for associating label informationfrom each unit of material with captured image data.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for tracking returnedcardboard. Such methods and systems may include a baler for baling thecardboard for return. Such methods and systems may include a labeler forapplying an RFID tag representative of origination site to each bale asit is baled; an RFID reader at return center for reading RFID tag oneach bale of cardboard; a characterization device for obtaining datacharacteristic of each bale of cardboard; and a logic and data storagemodule for associating information from the label of each bale ofcardboard with data characteristic of the bale of cardboard.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for tracking returnedmaterial. Such methods and systems may include a labeler for attaching alabel representative of origination site to each unit of returnedmaterial; a reader at return center for reading a label on each unit ofreturned material; a logic and data storage module for associatinginformation from the label of each unit of material with a date andlocation for each unit of recycled return material; a communicationmodule enabled to receive data characteristic of each unit of materialtransported; a logic and data storage module for associating informationfrom the label of each unit of material with data characteristic of eachunit of material; a communications module for transmitting labelinformation and characteristic data to an analytic server; and ananalytic server enabled to estimate, in the absence of labelinformation, an origination site based on origination site of units withsimilar date and location of the unit.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for tracking returnedplastic containers. Such methods and systems may include a labeler tolabel units of material at an originating site; a reader to read labelsat distribution system; an imager for capturing a digital image of thecontent of the unit of material; a logic and data storage module forassociating label information from each unit of material with capturedimage data of said unit of material and estimating at least one of avolume, weight, number, quality, and type representative of the plasticcontainers in the bin based on the digital image.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems relating to a smartforklift. Such methods and systems may include a forklift; and anautomatic tracking system disposed on the forklift, for tracking itemscarried by the forklift. Such methods and systems may include acommunication module enabled to receive data characteristic of each unitof material transported; a logic and data storage module for associatinginformation from a label of each unit of material with datacharacteristic of each unit of material; and a communications module fortransmitting label information and characteristic data to an analyticserver. Such methods and systems may further include at least one of anRFID reader and a bar code scanner for reading a label on each unit ofmaterial transported.

Methods and systems relating to a smart forklift may further include aforklift; a communication module enabled to receive data characteristicof the unit of material being transported; a logic and data storagemodule for associating, for each unit of material, information from thelabel and characteristic data; and a communications module fortransmitting label information and characteristic data to an analyticserver. Such methods and systems may include an RFID reader for readinga label from unit of material being transported and at least one RFIDantenna. Such methods and systems may include a scale for weighing theunit of material being transported. In this disclosure, a scale is anydevice which measures one or more parameters indicative of weight andfacilitates a determination or a calculation of weight. In embodimentsthe scale comprises a pressure gauge to measure with the hydraulicpressure for raising and lowering the unit of material beingtransported. In embodiments, the scale comprises an electric scaleincorporated in the forks of the forklift.

Methods and systems relating to a smart forklift may further include aforklift; an RFID reader for reading a label from unit of material beingtransported; at least two RFID antennas wherein the antennas havedifferent characteristics; a communication module enabled to receivedata characteristic of the unit of material being transported; a logicand data storage module for associating, for each unit of material,information from the label and characteristic data; and a communicationsmodule for transmitting label information and characteristic data to ananalytic server. Such methods and systems may include a scale forweighing the unit of material being transported. In embodiments theoperating characteristics include at least one of operating frequency,location, coverage area, and power.

Methods and systems relating to a smart forklift may further include aforklift; at least one of a built in RFID reader and a build in bar codescanner; an indicator for indicating success or failure of read; aninterface for driver to manually enter label ID upon indication offailure; a communication module enabled to receive data characteristicof the unit of material being transported; a logic and data storagemodule for associating, for each unit of material, information from thelabel and characteristic data; and a communications module fortransmitting label information and characteristic data to an analyticserver. Such methods and systems may include a scale for weighing theunit of material being transported.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention and the following detailed description of certainembodiments thereof may be understood by reference to the followingfigures:

FIG. 1A schematically represents an exemplary system for labeling andtracking material.

FIG. 1B schematically represents an exemplary system for labeling,tracking and reporting on material through a system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary system for scoring a store on the basisof weighted material type and criteria.

FIGS. 3A-3B represent a sample material report for a single store.

FIGS. 4A-4B represent sample screens for comparing multiple locations.

FIG. 5 illustrates sample material reports and recommendations for asingle store.

FIG. 6 represents a sample report documenting contamination of materialreceived from different locations.

FIGS. 7A-7B show an example of reusing a container to transport coffeegrounds.

FIG. 8A illustrates an exemplary collapsible sleeve in a folded state.

FIG. 8B illustrates an exemplary pallet bin base.

FIG. 8C illustrates another exemplary collapsible sleeve in an openedstate.

FIGS. 8D-8E illustrate a collapsible sleeve being inserted in a palletbin base.

FIG. 8F illustrates a collapsible bin and liner.

FIG. 8G is a top view of an exemplary base with an exemplary movablelocking mechanism for securing a sleeve to the base.

FIG. 8H illustrates a sleeve secured to a base with a locking mechanism.

FIG. 8I illustrates an exemplary cover for the bin which is foldable.

FIG. 8J illustrates the underside of an exemplary base showing anexemplary locking mechanism.

FIG. 8K illustrates another exemplary bin base.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing exemplary steps for reusing collapsiblebins.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary pallet bin box with collapsible sleevesupporting a stack of goods for transport.

FIG. 11A is a flow chart showing exemplary steps for reusing productcontainers.

FIGS. 11B-11C show stacks of goods for delivery including collapsedproduct containers for reuse.

FIG. 11D shows an exemplary product container and liner being used tocollect organic waste.

FIGS. 12A-12E show an enclosure for an exemplary smart forklift system.

FIGS. 13A-13B show placement of an enclosure on a forklift.

FIGS. 14A-14B show optional placement of an RFID antenna on a forklift.

FIGS. 15A-15C show pictures of an RFID antenna on a forklift.

FIGS. 16A-16C show a specialized forklift clamp for handling reusable,collapsible bins.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

High-Level Description of Tracking System

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, various components, methods and systemsfor managing and tracking materials from a plurality of source locationsare described herein. At each source location 102, quantities ofmaterial 104 (also referred to herein as batches or units of material)may be uniquely identified with an identifying label 108, and then entera transported material stream and be transported to a remote location114 such as a material handling site, distribution center, recyclingcenter, disposal location, recovery and processing center, and the like.In certain alternative embodiments, an identifying label may beassociated with one or more batches of material 104 during transport orupon arrival at one or more remote locations 114. Batches or units ofmaterial 104 may be further trans-shipped between remote locations 114.At one or more locations, such as at the source location 102, duringshipping, at one or more remote locations 114 and the like, theidentifying label 108 on each unit of material 104 may be read by one ormore of a plurality of readers 112, and the label information togetherwith information characterizing the units of material 102 may be sentusing a communication module 122 to a server or analysis system 110.There the identifying label 108 information together with informationcharacterizing the units of material 102 may be processed to generate aseries of reports 118 which may be shared with one or more reportrecipients 120 such as an individual source location 102 or store, adivision manager, a company manager, sustainability managers, othermanagement, shareholders, tax reporting, one or more regulatoryagencies, or the like. The reports may include information about one ormore of credits or obligations owed or reporting information associatedwith the material and the transportation of the material.

At each source location 102, there may be a material collectioncapability 106 that results in quantized batches or units of material104 such as material collected in a bin, palette, box, cart, bag,shrink-wrapped bundle or the like. As discussed below, homogenousmaterial may also be aggregated together without a container. A labeler103 may attach an identifying label 108 comprising information regardingthe source location 102, type of material, and the like to each unit ofmaterial 104 prior to transportation of units of material 104 to aremote location 114 such as a distribution center, recycling center,waste disposal location, recovery and processing center, and the like.In some embodiments the identifying labels 108 may be generated at thesource location or provided to the source location for association withthe batches of material. The identifying label 108 on each unit ofmaterial 104 may be read by a plurality of readers 112 at loading,during transportation, at off-loading, at various spots within thedistribution center, at offsite locations, and the like. Additionaldata, characterizing each unit of material 104, may be captured atloading, during transportation, at off-loading, at various spots withinthe distribution center, at offsite locations, and the like. Inembodiments, the additional data may be captured by entry into a userinterface, such as in a mobile device, such as by selecting a type ofmaterial from a menu, or the additional data may be captured by anautomated system, such as by capturing and analyzing images of thematerial, using inputs from one or more sensors, or using data from asystem, such as an inventory management system that indicates the natureof the item. The additional data for each unit of material 104 may beassociated with a unique label ID associated with its specificidentifying label 108 and may be sent to an analysis system 110 whichmay be local, remote, cloud-based, and the like.

The analysis system 110 may process information collected from theidentifying labels 108 and additional data characterizing the units ofmaterial to calculate, track, analyze, manage and report a variety ofinformation, such as the number of units of material 104 received from agiven source location 102 or set of source locations, the types ofmaterial received from each source location 102, additional dataassociated with an individual unit of material 104 or with a pluralityof units of material 104 from an individual source location 102, such ascumulative weight and volume of material from a given source location,external data about each source location 102, cost information relatingto materials, a type of the material, an owner of the facility or sourcelocation that produced the material, a time of origination of thematerial, information regarding the transport of the material such as atransporter of the material, a time of transportation of the material, apick-up location, a time of pick-up, a drop-off location, a time ofdrop-off, a duration of transport, a temperature of the material duringtransport, and the like, an image of the material, a weight of thematerial, a temperature of the material, a volume of the material, alocation of handling of the material and the like. The analysis system110 may be used to produce reports, bills, reimbursements, summaries,assessments, guidance and the like for different source locations 102,as well as for collections of source locations 102, and for variousgroups, divisions and chains, regulatory agencies, and the like.

Source Location

A source location 102 may be one or more of a retail store such ashardware store, consumer electronics store, a grocery store, aconvenience store, a restaurant, a coffee shop, or a fast food location,a production facility, such as for production of foods, manufacturedgoods, and the like, a distribution facility, such as for distributingvarious goods, a warehousing facility for holding inventory, and thelike.

While the general term “store” is sometimes used to represent sourcelocation hereafter, it is not meant to be limiting. A store may be partof a larger chain or franchise, which provides delivery and backhaulingto their different locations, and the term may refer to a productionfacility, distribution facility, or warehousing facility that is asource of material that requires disposal or recycling, except wherecontext indicates otherwise. A store may refer to a single location andmay use a third party service for waste disposal and recycling. A sourcelocation may encompass any location where material for disposal orrecycling originates or is collected and readied for transport and wherean identifying label 108 may be associated with the material.

Material

The material handled by the methods and systems disclosed herein mayinclude recyclable materials, such as cardboard, corrugated cardboard,plastics, PET plastics, Styrofoam, waxed cardboard, glass, plastic film,plastic bags, newspapers, waste paper, tin, steel and aluminum cans,foam, scrap metal, shrink wrap and the like. These recyclable materialsmay be collected from a plurality of source locations at thedistribution center and inserted into appropriate recycling streams. Thematerial may be waste for disposal or non-traditional recycling such asfood donation, organic waste, coffee grounds, garbage, and the like.These materials may be sent to a waste stream, incinerated, composted,or the like. Some materials, such as organic food waste, may be turnedinto food, such as for pigs and other livestock, used for compost, orsent to a landfill or waste disposal site, and the like. Some materialsmay be used and/or converted into fuel sources (e.g., biofuels ororganically produced fuels), used as sources of heat, or otherwise usedas energy sources.

In some instances, the material may be collected into homogenouscollections or batches of material 104. For some materials, such ascardboard, paper, Styrofoam, cans, bottles, trash, or the like, amaterial collection capability 106 such as a baler, compactor, crusher,condenser, densifier, or the like may be used to create bales or otherunits of compressed material where each bale or unit of crushed materialrepresents a unit or batch of material 104. For some materials, such asfood donations, organic waste, and the like, the material may becollected in a container. Each container may be a unit of material 104,or a plurality of containers may be palletized or otherwise collectedsuch as in a bin, box, bag, cart, shrink-wrapped bundle or the like witha single pallet, bundle, or collection being treated as a unit ofmaterial 104.

Labeling

An identifying label 108 may be associated with each unit of material104 at the source location 102 where the material is generated or as theunits of material 104 are being loaded for transport, such as to adistribution center, disposal site or other remote location. Identifyinglabels 108 may comprise RFID tags, barcodes, QR codes, symbols, images,alphanumeric strings, and the like. Identifying labels 108 may beapplied manually to each unit of material 104 or with a labeler 103. Alabeler 103 may be incorporated into a material collection capability106 designed to collect or compress material into units of material 104.Identifying labels 108 may be embedded into or attached to a collectioncontainer designed for use with the system, such as by the labeler 103.Identifying labels 108 may be incorporated into a container liner, suchas provided to the source location 102 to be used with one or more typeof container. Each identifying label 108 may comprise information suchas identification of the system, information about the source location102 (such as a store number, store district, store division, storechain, and the like), as well as information regarding the type ofmaterial, a unique label ID number, and the like.

Readers

Readers 112 for extracting information from the identifying labels 108may be located in a plurality of locations, such as at the point oforigin of the material, at the point of loading the unit of material 104for transportation to a distribution center, disposal site, or otherremote location; inside or attached to a transport vehicle; at the pointof unloading the material; within the distribution center, disposalsite, or other remote location; attached to a forklift, fork truck,transport line, conveyor system, transport vehicle, or other facilityfor handling, moving or processing the material; and the like. Readers112 may comprise RFID readers, barcode scanners, QR scanners, imagesensors and associated image processing such as optical characterrecognition, sensor systems, cameras, receivers, transceivers, and thelike. The reader 112 may be in communication with an analysis system110, such as to provide data for analysis by the analysis system 110.The reader 112 may send the information from each successfully readidentifying label 108 as each label is identified. The reader 112 may beassociated with a local logic and data storage module, where read datamay be accumulated and sent at a predetermined time interval, after adefined number of reads, after the accumulation of a certain amount ofdata, or the like. At any given location, there may be a plurality ofreaders 112 of different types to provide the capacity to read aplurality of label types used at different source sites, for differentmaterials, by different parties, or the like. At any given location,there may be a plurality of readers 112 of the same type to provideredundancy and to facilitate system identification of source location(s)and material type(s). There may be readers 112 at a plurality oflocations.

Characterization

The methods and systems of this disclosure may include one or moredevices for characterizing the units of material 104. For example, thesystem may include a scale for measuring the weight of each unit ofmaterial 104. The term “scale” as used herein refers to any system,method or device for calculating weight or measuring one or moreparameters indicative of weight, which may be used to determine orcalculate weight. The scale may be in communication with a reader 112,such that the measured weight may be associated with the uniqueidentifying label 108 and therefore with a specific source location 102,material type, batch of material, or the like. The scale may be adrive-through or drive-over scale onto which a transport device such asforklift, hand truck or the like loaded with the material could bemaneuvered and weighed with minimal impact on workflow. The weight ofthe material may then be determined by subtracting the weight of thetransport device and, if present, the weight of a container. The scalemay be built into a transport device such as a forklift, hand truck orthe like such that the measurement of a unit of material 104 occurs asthe unit of material 104 is handled by such a device. The measurementmay be of a parameter that is indicative of the weight rather than theweight directly. The parameter may be associated with an operatingsystem on the transportation device such as a pressure associated with alifting system of the transport device, a load measured in the liftingsystem of the transport device, a power requirement of a power system ofthe transport device, and an operating parameter of a motor of thetransport device. The scale may be built into a baler or compactor atthe source location 102 and the information associated with the uniqueidentifying label 108. In some embodiments, a weight may be assigned toa batch of material based on previous historical data of weightsassociated with that material from the same source location, such as anaverage weight or median weight of batches of the same material, oranother statistical calculation of weight based on historical data. Theassigned weight may be an average of previously measured weights of thesame material from the source location as indicated by the informationon the identifying label 108.

Illustrative Clauses

In some implementations, systems for tracking waste or recyclablematerial including a scale are described as summarized in the followingclauses.

Clause 1. A system for tracking a batch of waste or recyclable material,the system comprising: a label reader for reading a label that wasassociated with the batch of material at the originating site; a devicefor measuring a parameter indicative of the weight of the batch ofmaterial; and a communications facility for communicating the weight ofthe batch of material and the label information to a system for trackingthe batch of waste material.

Clause 2. The system of clause 1, wherein the scale measures the weightof the material by using a transport device that transports the batch ofmaterial.

Clause 3. The system of clause 1, wherein the device for measuring aparameter indicative of the weight of the batch is positioned on atransport device that transports the batch of material.

Clause 4. The system of clause 3, wherein the parameter indicative ofthe weight of the item is at least one operating parameter of at leastone operating system on the transport device.

Clause 5. The system of clause 4, wherein the at least one operatingparameter is at least one of a pressure associated with a lifting systemof the transport device, a load measured in the lifting system of thetransport device, a power requirement of a power system of the transportdevice, and an operating parameter of a motor of the transport device.

Clause 6. The system of clause 1, wherein a weight of a subsequent batchof material is determined by using historical data from a plurality ofbatches of the same material type as the batch of material to determinea weight for the batch of material.

Clause 7. The system of clause 1, wherein the scale is a drive-throughscale that measures the weight of the material by measuring the weightof the material and a transport device that transports the material overthe scale and subtracting the weight of the transport device.

Clause 8. The system of clause 1, wherein the scale is located at amaterial handling site that is remote from the originating site.

Clause 9. The system of clause 1, further comprising a bin to hold thematerial.

Clause 10. The system of clause 9, wherein the bin further comprises aliner.

Clause 11. The system of clause 10, wherein the label is affixed to theliner.

Clause 12. The system of clause 9, wherein the bin is configured to behandled by a forklift.

Clause 13. The system of clause 1, wherein the information about thematerial includes information about the transport of the material.

Clause 14. The system of clause 1, wherein the information about thematerial includes information about the destination of the material.

Clause 15. The system of clause 1, wherein the information about thematerial comprises at least one of: a type of the waste material, anowner of the facility that produced the waste material, a time oforigination of the waste material, a transporter of the waste material,a time of transportation of the waste material, an image of the wastematerial, a weight of the waste material, a temperature of the wastematerial, a volume of the waste material, and a location of handling ofthe waste material.

Clause 16. The system of clause 1, further comprising a bin to hold thematerial, and wherein the scale is a drive-through scale that measuresthe weight of the material by measuring the weight of the material, thebin, and the transport device that transports the material over thescale and subtracting the weight of the bin and the transport device.

Clause 17. A system for tracking a batch of waste or recyclablematerial, the system comprising: a label reader for reading a label thatwas associated with the batch of material at the originating site; ascale for determining the weight of the batch of material, wherein thescale is a drive-through scale that measures the weight of the materialby measuring the weight of a transport device loaded with the materialand subtracting the weight of the transport device; and a communicationsfacility for communicating the weight of the batch of material and thelabel information to a system for tracking the batch of waste material.

The system may include an imaging device, such as a camera or imagesensor, for capturing one or more images of a unit of material 104, suchas to assist in characterizing the unit of material 104. The imagingdevice is located at or on at least one of the originating site, atransport device for the material, and a material handling site that isremote from the originating site. The imaging device may be sensitive atvarious wavelengths to capture different types of information about theunit of material 104. For example, a thermal imaging device may provideinformation about the nature and/or age of organic material, or aboutthe presence of mixed organics and non-organics, based on the likelihoodthat organic materials will tend to have a different profile of emittedenergy relative to non-organic based materials. The imaging device mayalso be sensitive in the visible light range, such as to capture anddocument images indicating the nature and the quality of the units ofmaterial 104 being sent through the system. The images captured by theimaging system may be analyzed to estimate: a type of material, thetemperature of organic material, the age of organic material, thepresence of inorganic material, a percentage of inorganic materialpresent, a number of inorganic items, an estimate of the type ofinorganic items, a volume of material, a weight of the material, aquality of the material, a presence of contamination, a number ofcontainers within a single batch of material 104, and the like. Theseimages may also be used to for compliance analysis such as determiningthe presence or absence of certain contaminants in the material (forexample organics and inorganics), how a container or bin was assembled,the use of a liner whether its use complied with a protocol,determination regarding whether the temperature of the material waswithin a predetermined range, and other compliance issues. There may beone or more imaging devices with different sensitivities at variouspoints throughout the system. The imaging device may inspect one or moreunits of material 104 by emitting energy and reading the return energy,such as by using ultrasound, reflected light, or similar approaches. Oneor more imaging devices may be in communication with a reader 112 suchthat the one or more captured images may be associated with a particularidentifying label 108 and therefore with a specific source location 102,material type, unit of material 104, or the like. Other systems forcharacterizing a unit of material 104 may include one or moremicroscopes (including optical and electron microscopes), imagingdevices (including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging,optical imaging devices, laser-based imaging devices, and other imagingdevices, as well as devices using other mechanisms for inspection, suchas sonograms, radio-based inspection, X-Rays, microwave-basedinspection, or the like.

Illustrative Clauses

In some implementations, systems for tracking waste or recyclablematerial including one or more of an imaging device and organic materialare described as summarized in the following clauses.

Clause 1. A system for tracking waste or recyclable material, the systemcomprising: an imaging device for capturing an image of at least one ofa batch of waste or recyclable material and a bin for the material,wherein the imaging device is located at or on at least one of theoriginating site, a transport device for the material, and a materialhandling site that is remote from the originating site, wherein theimaging device is associated with at least one communications facilityfor communicating with a system that tracks the batch of material in thebin, and wherein the image captured by the imaging device is sent withinformation enabling the captured image to be associated with at leastone of a batch of waste or recyclable material and a bin for thematerial.

Clause 2. The system of clause 1, wherein a portion of the material isorganic material.

Clause 3. A system of clause 1, further comprising: a label configuredto be associated with the batch of material, wherein the label comprisesan identifier including at least one of information identifying theoriginating site and information about the batch of material; and alabel reader at a material handling site that is remote from theoriginating site and is capable of reading the identifier on the label,the label reader associated with a first communications facility forcommunicating the information read by the label reader to a server,wherein the system that tracks the batch of material in the binassociates the image captured by the imaging device with the label.

Clause 4. The system of clause 1, wherein the captured image of thematerial may be processed to identify at least one of: an estimate ofthe temperature of organic material, a presence of inorganic material,an estimate of the percent of inorganic material, an estimate of thenumber of inorganic items, an estimate of the type of inorganic items,an estimate of volume of material, an estimate of weight of thematerial, an estimate of the quality of the material, and an estimate ofthe age of the organic material.

Clause 5. The system of clause 1, wherein the imaging device issensitive to infrared wavelengths.

Clause 6. The system of clause 1, wherein the captured image may be usedto document the quality of material received at the material handlingsite.

Clause 7. The system of clause 2, wherein the information about thebatch of material includes information about the destination of thematerial.

Clause 8. The system of clause 2, wherein the information about thebatch of material comprises at least one of: a type of the material, afacility that produced the material, a time of origination of thematerial, a transporter of the material, a time of transportation of thematerial, a transport duration, an image of the material, a weight ofthe material, a temperature of the material, a volume of the material,and a location of handling of the material.

Clause 9. The system of clause 1, further including a liner for the bin,wherein the label is attached to the liner.

Clause 10. The system of clause 1, wherein the label is attached to thebin.

Clause 11. The system of clause 1, wherein the bin is configured to behandled by a forklift.

Clause 12. The system of clause 1, further comprising a scale forweighing the bin to determine a weight of the material.

Clause 13. A system for tracking organic material in a waste stream, thesystem comprising: a label associated with a batch of waste material atan originating site, wherein at least a portion of the batch of wastematerial is organic material and wherein the label comprises labelinformation identifying a least one of the originating site andinformation about the batch of waste material; a label reader at a wastehandling site that is remote from the originating site and is capable ofreading the label information on the label; a characterizing device fordetermining at least one characteristic of the batch of waste materialand a communications facility for communicating to a server the labelinformation read by the label reader and the determined at least onecharacteristic of the batch of waste material, wherein the server usesthe label information and the at least one characteristic to provide auser with data about the organic material in the batch of the wastematerial.

Clause 14. The system of clause 13, wherein a bin for the batch of wastematerial is configured to be handled by a forklift.

Clause 15. The system of clause 13, wherein a forklift is configured tohandle the batch of material.

Clause 16. The system of clause 13, wherein the characterizing devicecomprises an image processing subsystem for acquiring an image of atleast one of the material and a bin for the material.

Clause 17. The system of clause 13, further comprising a device formeasuring a parameter indicative of the weight of the waste material.

Clause 18. The system of clause 13, wherein the information about thebatch of the waste material includes information about the transport ofthe waste material, comprising at least one of: a pick-up location, atime of pick-up, a drop-off location, a time of drop-off, a duration oftransport, a temperature of the batch of waste material duringtransport, a weight of the material, and a weight at a particular time.

Clause 19. The system of clause 13, wherein the information about thewaste material includes information about a destination of the wastematerial.

Clause 20. The system of clause 16, wherein the acquired image is usedfor documenting the nature of the batch of waste material or thecondition of the bin.

Clause 21. The system of clause 20, wherein the server for theprocessing facility associates the information about the nature of thewaste material with information about the origination and handling ofthe bin.

Clause 22. The system of clause 13, wherein the information about thebatch of waste material comprises at least one of: a type of the wastematerial, an owner of the facility that produced the waste material, atime of origination of the waste material, a transporter of the wastematerial, a time of transportation of the waste material, an image ofthe waste material, a weight of the waste material, a temperature of thewaste material, a volume of the waste material, and a location ofhandling of the waste material.

The methods and systems disclosed herein may include devices formeasuring temperature, weight, density, humidity, odors, the presence ofcertain chemicals (including volatile chemicals), the presence ofparticulates, the presence of organic material, the presence ofbiological organisms, and the like. The methods and systems disclosedherein may analyze noise profiles; for example, if a forklift makes acertain noise or in a certain part of a plant, the system can use thenoise profile to know where in the plant a measurement was taken thathad the noise profile in the background. The methods and systemsdisclosed herein may include image processing techniques to be used toidentify material for food donation, quantify the types of materialbeing disposed of (such as packaged or non-packaged), identifyrecyclables that are not in compliance with regulations regardingliners, containment, contamination, age of material and the like,identify materials associated with different departments, and the like.These devices may be in communication with one or more readers 112, suchthat the measured information may be associated with a particularidentifying label 108 ID and therefore with a specific source location102, material type, unit of material 104, or the like.

The different measurement devices may also be in communication with alocal logic and data storage module, an analysis system 110, or thelike. These systems may be located on-site, off-site, in the cloud, orthe like. Communication of data from the label reader, scale, imagingsystem(s), or other material characterization systems may occur using asa communication module 122 one of a wired connection (e.g., an LAN, WAN,Ethernet or Internet connection, such as via an access point, switch orrouter), a wireless, remote connections such as radio transmission,infrared communications, short range wireless communications system(such as wireless USB, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, WiFi and others) or longrange wireless communications systems such as 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE and othercellular communications technologies.

Synthesis and Application of Data

An analysis system 110 may collect and track a wide variety of data foreach unit of material 104 submitted by each source location 102 orstore. The methods and systems of this disclosure may track the numberof units of material 104 submitted, the distribution among types ofmaterial, the weights and/or volumes of different units of materialsubmitted, images of the units of material submitted, thermalmeasurements for each unit of material, noise measurements, and othercharacteristics measured with respect to each unit of material 104. Theanalysis system 110 may analyze the collected data on the basis ofindividual stores, various groupings of stores, all stores in aparticular chain, a regional or national average, and the like.Comparisons may be made between individual stores, between an individualstore and the average performance of a group of stores, between averageperformance of different groups of stores, between a store and allstores of a particular chain, between a store and a national average,and the like. Comparisons may be based on geography, sales volumes,store format, manager characteristics and the like. The results of theanalysis may be a series of reports 118 which may be shared with one ormore report recipients 120 such as an individual source location 102 orstore, a division manager, a company manager, sustainability managers,other management, shareholders, tax reporting, one or more regulatoryagencies, or the like.

Illustrative Clauses

In some implementations, systems for tracking waste or recyclablematerial and providing at least one of billing information, creditinformation and reporting information are described as summarized in thefollowing clauses and illustrated in FIG. 1.

Clause 1. A system for tracking waste or recyclable material in atransported material stream and providing at least one of billinginformation, credit information, and reporting information with respectto the material, the system comprising: a label associated with a batchof waste or recyclable material at an originating site, the labelincluding label information and being associated with at least one ofthe batch of material and a container for the material at theoriginating site, the label information comprising at least one ofidentifier information identifying the originating site and informationabout the material; a label reader at a material handling site that isremote from the originating site and is capable of reading the labelinformation on the label; and a communications facility forcommunicating to a server the label information read by the labelreader, wherein the server uses the label information to report ordetermine, with respect to the material, specific information about atleast one of the type and the amount of the material.

Clause 2. The system of clause 1, wherein the specific information isabout the amount of the material and relates to at least one of a creditowed and an obligation owed.

Clause 3. The system of clause 1, wherein information reported by theserver further comprises at least one of: an amount of recycledmaterial, a type of the material, an owner of the facility that producedthe material, a time of origination of the material, a transporter ofthe material, a time of transportation of the material, an image of thematerial, a weight of the material, a temperature of the material, avolume of the material, and a location of handling of the material.

Clause 4. The system of clause 1, wherein a container for the materialis configured to be handled by a forklift.

Clause 5. The system of clause 1, wherein a forklift is configured tohandle the material.

Clause 6. The system of clause 1, wherein information reported by theserver about the material includes information about the transport ofthe material.

Clause 7. The system of clause 6, wherein the information about thetransport of the material comprises at least one of: a pick-up location,a time of pick-up, a drop-off location, a time of drop-off, a durationof transport, a temperature of the material during transport, a weightof the material, and a weight at a particular time.

Clause 8. The system of clause 1, further comprising an image processingsubsystem for acquiring an image of at least one of the material and acontainer for the material, wherein the image is used in a complianceanalysis.

Clause 9. The system of clause 8, wherein the compliance analysisincludes at least one of: a determination of presence or absence ofcontaminants in the material, a determination of proper or impropercontainer assembly, a determination of proper or improper liner set-up,a determination of whether temperature of the material is within apredetermined range, and a determination of compliance or noncompliancewith regulations.

Clause 10. The system of clause 1, further comprising an imageprocessing subsystem for acquiring an image of at least one of thematerial and a container for the material, wherein the server uses theimage to determine a nature of the material and associates the nature ofthe material with information about the origination and handling of thematerial.

Clause 11. The system of clause 1, further comprising a scale todetermine a weight of the material.

Clause 12. The system of clause 1, wherein the same or a differentserver tracks information with respect to a plurality of batches ofmaterial to determine at least one of a net credit and a net obligationwith respect to the plurality of batches.

Clause 13. A system for tracking material in a transported waste streamand providing information with respect to the material, the systemcomprising: a label associated with a batch of waste or recyclablematerial at an originating site, the label including label informationand being associated with at least one of the batch of material and acontainer for the material at the originating site, the labelinformation comprising at least one of identifier informationidentifying the originating site and information about the material; alabel reader at a material handling site that is remote from theoriginating site and is capable of reading the label information on thelabel; and a communications facility for communicating to a server thelabel information read by the label reader, wherein the server uses thelabel information to determine analytics with respect to the material.

Clause 14. The system of clause 13, wherein the information with respectto the material includes at least one of a credit owed, an obligationowed, reporting information, destination site, type of material, andclassifications.

Clause 15. The system of clause 13, wherein analytics include analyzedinformation of the material including cost analysis, time analysis, andefficiency analysis.

As shown in FIG. 2, the data for each material type 202 may be evaluatedwith respect to one or more criteria 204, where each criterion 204 mayhave an independent criterion weighting 206. Additionally, differentmaterial types 202 may have independent material weighting 208. Theresulting weighted scores for the different material criteria 204 andmaterial types 202 may be used in producing individual store scores,peer set rankings 210, district rankings 212, performance evaluationsand scoring, and the like. The rankings may be produced for individualmaterial types 202 and criteria 204 as well as an overall ranking 214.

The material characteristics data collected by the system may becombined with other data, such as the data on the label (e.g.,information about the chain, division, district, store ID, material typeand the like) as well as additional background information such asrelating to the different source locations, such as store location, typeof location (e.g., urban, suburban, rural), store format (e.g. smallfootprint, corner store, big box), quality of roads used to reach alocation, sales volumes for a store (possibly including both totalvolumes and volumes for various departments within the store), storemanager, chain, brand name, and the like. This data may be summarized ina dashboard and may be shared with other systems, such as financialsystems, accounting systems, regulatory compliance systems, planningsystems, and the like.

A large chain of stores may have its own distribution center, such thatany savings accrued from recycling, improved efficiencies and the likecontributes to overall reduction in operating costs for the chain. Theselarge chains may utilize the data obtained to evaluate store compliancewith different initiatives, such as recycling goals and waste reductiontargets. Evaluation may be used to determine the allocation of fundsfrom recycling of material or other savings back to the contributingstore(s), to determine allocation of incentives, and the like. This maybe done on the basis of material contribution, ranking within a peer setas to particular objectives and the like. This distribution may result,for example, in a low-ranked store receiving reduced credit or nocredit. In illustrative examples, the overall top ranked store in a peerset may receive 20% of the profits, the next two stores may receive 10%,and the like. In some instances, compliance with very specific criteria,or with a weighted combination of criteria, may result in receipt ofbenefits relating to certain initiatives, such as 5% for compliance withunit preparation procedures comprising proper use of a liner, theabsence of leaking, and the like or with penalties associated withnon-compliance.

Analytics to Improve Store Performance

Analysis of data regarding amounts of recycled and waste materials,types of material, the quality of recycled and waste materials,performance on store initiatives (e.g. the use of liners), and the likemay be used to assess the absolute and relative performance ofindividual stores. The data gathered by the methods and systems of thisdisclosure may be combined with external databases that may store andhandle information about different locations, such as store size, storevolume, store location, store turnover, volume and types of goods andmaterials shipped to a location, volume of material donated, number ofemployees, experience of the manager, and the like. Two or more storesmay be grouped into a peer set on the basis of this information. In someinstances a chain or district may indicate peer stores for a givenlocation. A store may be placed in multiple peer groups based ondifferent criteria for the purposes of different analyses.

The system may provide information and analytics regarding the relativeperformance of an individual source location 102 relative to that of apeer group, organization or the like on the basis of data gathered bythe system (FIGS. 3A-3B). Stores may receive reports on individualperformance, as well as on the performance of the stores' peer set(s),such as with respect to metrics such as volume of material recycled,types of material recycled, percentage of materials recycled 302, taxbenefits, money saved by recycling, money generated by recycling, costanalysis, time analysis, efficiency analysis and the like. Reports mayinclude information on average performance by the members of a store'speer set as well as best and worst in class performance. Reports mayinclude performance relative to target performance 306. In anillustrative example, an organization may reward stores on the basis oftheir participation in waste and recycling programs. Stores may receivean extra incentive or penalty based on their performance relative toother stores in the same peer group. Store management may be evaluatedin part on the basis of store performance relative to peer group.

Collected data may be accrued over time, trends identified, and avariety of information, comparisons, trends, suggestions, and the like,may be provided to individual source locations, district, division andchain managers, governmental agencies and the like. FIG. 3B shows asample dashboard displaying recycling statistics for a given store,including data such as total tons recycled that day, a breakdown of thetypes of material, recycling performance for the month compared to plan,performance relative to national and regional averages, as well as acomparison to a peer set. FIG. 3A shows trends in performance also seenwith a summary of districts and stores whose rankings are changing forthe better and for the worse. For example, performance over the past 12months, or over the past 3 months may be plotted together withperformance of peer group average and best performer. Data from currentand previous report cards may be shown with trending data, days incategory, and the like

Managers may be provided with tools and dashboards (FIGS. 4A-4B) tofilter data based on various criteria such as store IDs 402, district406, overall tonnage 404, stores trending in a particular direction 408,highest waste cost, best recycling, largest volume, and the like. Inembodiments, this data may be shown as a coded overlay on other data. Inan illustrative example, FIG. 4B shows stores, color-coded by cost,overlaid on a map.

In embodiments, the methods and systems of this disclosure may serve asa basis to measure participation in an incentive plan. In anillustrative example, an organization with a plurality of locations mayhave each source location 102 attach a label to each unit of material104, identifying the unit of material 104 with one or more of a storeID, a material ID, a location ID and the like. The unit of material 104may then be transported to a centralized location, such as adistribution center, and the amount of material associated with eachsource location 102 may be measured or otherwise characterized, usingthe identifying labels 108 to associate the measured or otherwisecharacterized material with a source location 102. The information abouta material may include a count of the number of units of material 104, avolume of material, a weight of material, a density of material, a countof units of material making up the unit of material 104, a type ofmaterial, and the like. In this way, the information about the material,such as the amount of material, may be allocated to each source location102 on the basis of the identifying label 108 associated with each unitof material 104. In embodiments, stores or source locations 102 may becompared relative to one another on the simple basis of overall amountof material provided, each source location 102 may be compared relativeto an average performance, to a performance of a cohort of similar storelocations, to a target performance, to the store's past performance, torequirements of governmental regulations, and the like.

In addition to being provided with performance information and data, asource location may also receive tips and ideas to improve performancein those areas where the store is performing below a target, below apeer group or the like. The data obtained may be used to improve theperformance of individual stores and their employees, such as byproviding suggestions of areas on which to focus, providing specificinformation (e.g. data, pictures and graphs) regarding performance gaps,providing general guidelines for improved compliance with initiatives,providing targeted training and the like. In an illustrative exampleshown in FIG. 5, a store may be provided with one or more suggestions toimprove its performance, such as recycling certain types of containersto increase the store's recycling volume. If overall performance isbelow that of peers on a number of different criteria, the methods andsystems disclosed herein may provide guidance on ways to improve overallperformance, such as tips to increase employee compliance with arecycling initiative, additional instructions on how to preparematerials of different types, or collateral material such as stickersand labels to display at the source location to motivate associates. Insome instances best in class performers and their tactics may behighlighted.

Incentive Systems

The information shown in the sample dashboard and similar informationmay be used in a variety of ways. In an illustrative example, a chainmay provide incentives for stores relative to goals, such as relating tototal recycling, improved recycling performance, performance against thestore's peers and the like. The data provided by this system allows achain to evaluate the performance of individual locations rather thansimply an overall performance level for a given division or district.

Third Party Suppliers

Smaller businesses typically hire a third party distribution servicesprovider for delivery of goods. In the future these third partydistribution services providers may provide backhauling of recyclablesas well. A third party distribution service provider typically servicesmultiple locations, multiple stores, and multiple chains with a singledistribution center. A third party distribution service provider mayutilize the methods and systems of this disclosure to facilitatecontracts based on analytics of materials handled, rather than charginga flat fee. For example, the third party distribution service providermay charge a customer on the basis of total weight or volumetransported, negotiate a profit sharing of proceeds from recycling inexchange for reduced transport rates, and the like. The capability ofdetailed tracking of the quantity and quality of materials back tosource location may allow the third party distribution service providerto track and enforce quality requirements, such as relating tocontamination, proper packaging and the like with the specific customer.When the transport and distribution/recycling center is run by a thirdparty supporting a plurality of business and source locations, thedetailed information may be used to provide detailed tracking to supportcontracts tax credits, verification of regulatory compliance and forproviding detailed billing and credit reports.

Analytics as Basis for Contractual Terms

In embodiments, the system of this disclosure may be part of anautomatic billing system in which a client may be automatically billedor credited based on the amount and type of material that the client'sstore(s) have sent into the system. A client may represent a singlesource location 102 such as an individual restaurant or store, a storedistrict, a store division, a store chain, or the like.

A transporter may transport a plurality of materials such as cardboard,styrofoam, plastics, organics, food donations and other materials to berecycled. In some instances the transporter may pay a small fee toobtain the recyclable material. In some instances, the transporter mayremove the recyclable material and then share a portion of the proceedsfrom the recycling activity with the source location, such as on thebasis of the amount of material provided by the various sourcelocations.

A transporter may transport waste materials, such as organic waste,coffee grounds, refuse, and the like. The transporter may bill thesource location on the basis of the volume of material collected at agiven location, on the basis of volume in excess of a fixed amount,contamination and the like. In some instances, a transporter maytransport both recyclable material and waste materials. The credit forthe recyclable materials and the charges for the waste materials may beaccrued together into a net credit or charge for the source location. Insome cases, if a source location does not prepare the wasteappropriately, a transporter may impose a fee, which may be takenagainst the credit for recycled material, thus avoiding the need tocharge a source location for fee reimbursement.

The client may receive a portion of the value of recyclable materialthat it has collected for recycling while being charged for an amount ofwaste that they have submitted to the system. In an illustrativeexample, a store may have an agreement with a transporter to pay for theamount of material back hauled on the basis of weight transported duringa given billing period. A label may be attached to each unit of material104 to be hauled at the source location 102. Each unit of material 104may be loaded onto transport, such as truck, which may stop at aplurality of locations during a single run. Upon arrival at adistribution center where the material is to be unloaded, a readerlocated near a dock may identify and record each identifying label 108as a unit of material 104 is unloaded from the transport. As each unitof material 104 is moved through the facility, each unit of material 104may be weighed. Each scale may have an associated reader 112 such thatthe measured weight may be associated with the unique ID of theidentifying label 108 attached to the unit of material 104 beingweighed. A reader 112 may be associated with one or more measuringdevices. The reader 112 may be in communication with the measuringdevices such as a scale, imaging device and the like. Informationregarding the unit of material may be transferred from one or more of areader 112, a measuring device, and the like to an analytic system. Oneor more of the scale and the reader 112 may provide informationregarding the weight associated with each label ID to an automaticallybilling system. The analytic system may then correlate the weight ofmaterial associated with each unique ID from the identifying labels 108.This information may be used in conjunction with other information fromthe identifying labels 108, business rules, tax rules, contractualinformation, and the like to identify a client to be billed or creditedfor the units of material 104 processed. The client to be billed may bean individual store, a larger parent company associated with a pluralityof stores and the like.

Credits and Penalties for Recycled Materials

In embodiments, the system may provide reimbursement or allocate creditto source locations 102 based on quantity and quality of recycled unitsof material 104 provided by the source location. FIG. 6 shows an examplewhere the characteristic data collected by the system includes images ofthe units of material associated with a particular source location.Examples of contaminated materials, material not conforming to specifiedpackaging and the like may be flagged and documented, and the store maynot receive recycling credit for those materials. In instances where thedistribution center receives both recycle material for credit and wastematerial for a fee; the accrued credit may be docked for poor packaging,regulation violations etc. related to the waste material.

Routing Logistics of Pickup

Information on the overall volume and weight of material generated aswell as information on trends, such as increased waste or recyclingvolume at the end of the month, during the summer season, local holdingcapacity, regulations, delivery schedules, and the like may be used tooptimize routing and logistics of pick up from a plurality of locations.For example, locations that are not visited regularly with deliveriesmay have material collected on return trips from delivery and pickup atother locations. In addition to picking up material when makingdeliveries, pickups may be scheduled based on a particular frequency,such as based on analysis of the previous waste generation and recyclingrates and volumes initiated by the location, and the like. The frequencyof pickup may vary over time as there are changes in the volume andweight of material that is picked up. Routes may be varied to optimizeefficiency, cost, response time to pickup requests, frequency rates, andthe like.

Reporting for Compliance

In some locations there are regulations regarding recycling, such asmandatory recycling of specific materials, landfill bans on certainmaterials and types of materials, and the like. Similarly, there areregulations in certain regions banning disposal of commercial organicwaste by businesses or restrictions on institutions that dispose oflarge amounts of materials such as one ton or more of these materialsper week. There may be regulations regarding food donation such asfavoring food donation over waste disposal. The data provided by themethods and systems of this disclosure may be used to meet legalreporting requirements with reports of compliance with the differentregulations, to document food donations for tax credits, sustainabilityreporting, and the like.

System Implementation Details

Label Logistics: Duplicate, Redundant or Erroneous Labels

In some instances, there may be multiple identification labels 108applied to a single unit of material 104. This may be done mistakenly atthe source location or may occur over time, such as when a container fortransporting waste is reused. In some instances, a label may be missingor unreadable. In all of these situations, it may still be importantthat the unit of material be allocated to the appropriate sourcelocation and that credits or charges be generated as appropriate.

For multiple labels, historic label data may be used to identifypreviously used labels. In some cases, a single label may be selectedand the other ignored based on a set of rules. In some cases, details ofa missing or unreadable label may be inferred, such as based on theidentification details from labels on nearby units of material.Alternately, the details may be inferred from the location of thematerial within the distribution system or the location on the dock. Insome cases, the identification information from the missing orunreadable labels may be inferred based on an analysis of historicpatterns, scheduled pickups, and the like.

In some instances, there may be an alert to indicate the failure of thereader to locate or read an identifying label on a unit of material.There may be a device to facilitate manual entry of informationregarding the unit of material if the reader fails to automatically readan identifying label. In some instances, data about the unit of materialmay be inferred on the basis of additional characteristics ormeasurements of the unit of material such as weight of a unit ofmaterial, visual properties, thermal properties and the like.

RFID Label Logistics

In some embodiments, certain technology components may be used for theidentifying labels and reader. For example, in embodiments, an antennafor reading an RFID label may be located in one or more locations, suchas on a forklift, fork truck, hand cart, palette mover and the like, onor near drive through scales or other measuring equipment, throughout adistribution, recycling or disposal center, and the like.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the amount ofpower an antenna may emit. For readers 112 located within a distributioncenter or in proximity to a measurement device, the selection of antennatype may be dependent on the particular geometry of the location of theantenna relative to the anticipated location(s) of the units ofmaterial. A directional antenna aligned to focus a cone of availableenergy on the location where the identifying label 108 is anticipatedmay be desirable where the likely location of the units of material 104is known; otherwise, an omnidirectional antenna, where the energy isdistributed evenly over a sphere, may be preferred. The particulargeometry of antenna location relative to anticipated location of theunits of material and RFID labels together with cost of individuallabels may be considerations in selecting a particular frequency bandfor the system. In embodiments, an UHF RFID system may be used due tothe large read range, approximately 12 meters, and relatively low costper label.

A number of label characteristics may be considered when selecting alabel type for a particular system, environment, material type to belabeled and the like, as described in the following illustrativeexamples. For systems where the intent is to avoid any impact onexisting workflow, and where the units of material 104 may arrive in anyorientation, a “3D” label, which can be read irrespective of labelorientation relative to antenna, may be a preferable despite highercosts per label. For systems where the units of material will have aconsistent orientation, it may be feasible to use lower cost “2D”labels, even though the labels may need to be oriented relativelyparallel to the antenna to be read. In another example, labels, RFID andothers, may be made of various materials or films, which may vary inprice and environmental stability, with some material selectionsresulting in labels that are unreadable after exposure to thetemperature and humidity outside their tolerance. For a system whereunits of material 104 may be stored outside at one or more points in theflow of materials it may be important to select a water resistant filmfor the label to help ensure readability.

RFID tags typically work by absorbing and reflecting energy emitted froman antenna in a unique pattern. Slight discrepancies in the tags'respective reflective patterns allow the RFID reader to discern one tagfrom another. Therefore, when these tags are placed against a highlyreflective material, such as water or metal, some or all of the energyfrom the reader may be reflected, and the RFID reader may have troublediscerning the subtle changes in reflection of the tags' designedreflective pattern(s). This is particularly a concern for organic waste,such as food waste, which is composed primarily of water, a highlyreflective material. The antenna frequency, tag position on therecyclable, label material and the like may be selected based in part onoptimizing the readability of a tag against the background of thematerial being labeled. In an illustrative example, for labels to beplaced in units of organic material, a material designed to absorb theenergy emitted from the antenna may be placed between the RFID tag andthe organic material.

Label Logistics: Multiple Labels & Identifying Appropriate Label

The methods and systems of this disclosure are envisioned to be capableof operating in distribution centers where there may be a plurality ofunits of material 104 in close proximity. Given these conditions certainsafeguards may be put in place to help assure that, when a plurality ofRFID labels are read, the correct label is associated with the correctunit of material. When using certain combinations of RFID antennas andoperating frequencies, a plurality of RFID labels may be identified foreach read. For the system to be effective, the correct label may beidentified and associated with a specific unit of material and itsvarious characteristics.

In an illustrative and non-limiting example, the methods and systems ofthis disclosure may include one or more of various features that aid inreadability of the tags and discrimination between read information inorder to associate a tag's information with the appropriate unit ofmaterial. For example, these goals may be achieved in part by selectinga suitable antenna waveform, such as one with reduced side lobes, inorder to focus a field of view of the reader onto the fork tines of aforklift on which a unit of material is loaded. An amplitude of theantenna may be tuned to focus its read distance to materials on the forktines of the forklift, while providing sufficient energy to overcomepossible attenuation due to material incompatibility such as wet metalor the like. Readings may be scheduled to occur only when weight on thefork tines is detected, such as measured by a pressure transducer, orwhen a determined weight is within a predetermined range. SequentialRFID tags may be utilized which have unique serial numbers todistinguish between third party tags, tags read multiple times, or theaddition of multiple labels to a single material load. Images from acamera on-board a forklift may be used to capture data on the materialhandled by the forklift. Image capture may be triggered by weight, time,fork position, or other occurrence that may provide targeted datacapture. Image processing may then be utilized, in combination withother data, to determine if a unit of material is received without aproper RFID label or label placement.

As mentioned, the label reader may be enabled to scan for tagsperiodically when there is a unit of material at a designed location,such as on a forklift on which a reader is installed. The read rate (thenumber of times label is read per second) for each label may benegatively correlated with the distance of the label from the antenna,such that a label that is in close proximity to the antenna may have aread rate of 8 or higher while a label placed on a unit of material 10feet away from the antenna may have a read rate of 4. Typically thelabel with the highest read rate, and therefore in the closestproximity, is the label that is on a unit of material that is on thefork truck. There may also be a method to measuring the signal strengthreturned by the tag to discern the proximity to the reader. The labelreader may scan periodically for the entire time that a unit of materialis on the fork truck. This assures that neighboring units of materialwith labels in close proximity to one another are not confused. Theinitial read rate would be similar for the two labels in proximity, butthe read rate of the label on the stationary unit of material willgradually decrease as another bale or unit of material 104 changesposition. There may be a timing element associated with reading whererather than continuously reading the label, the label reader may read atless frequent intervals, at times defined relative to other events (e.g.read 10 seconds after picking up a unit of material), after a predefinedsequence of events (e.g. read after picking up a unit of material andtransporting the material 15 feet), at a particular location such as oneidentified by noise, GPS coordinates, and the like, or at otherparameter triggered points.

Illustrative Clauses

In some implementations, there may be a system for tracking waste orrecyclable materials as described in the following clauses:

Clause 1. A system for tracking waste or recyclable material, the systemcomprising: a label for a batch of material generated at an originatingsite, the label being associated with at least one of the material andany container for the material at the originating site, the labelcomprising an identifier including at least one of informationidentifying the originating site and information about the material; alabel reader at a material handling site that is remote from theoriginating site and is capable of reading the identifier on the label,the label reader associated with a communications facility forcommunicating information to a server.

Clause 2. The system of clause 1, wherein the information communicatedto the server includes at least one of: a timestamp associated with alabel, a type of material, an amount of material, a read rate associatedwith a label, an absence of a label, data from more than one label, animage of the material and data associated with at least one of signalstrength and signal direction associated with each label read.

Clause 3. The system of clause 1, wherein the server uses at least someof the received information to at least one of: verify that a label wasread, determine an absence of a label on the batch of material,disambiguate between the use of the same label for different batches ofmaterial, disambiguate between the presence of more than one label onthe same material in order to identify the correct label information fora particular shipment of material, disambiguate between material on aforklift and material near the forklift, and disambiguate theassociation of the label with additional measurements made on thematerial.

Clause 4. The system of clause 3, wherein the server uses historicaldata from a plurality of batches of the same material type as the batchof material to determine a weight for the batch of the material.

Clause 5. The system of clause 1, wherein the information about thematerial includes information about the transport of the material.

Clause 6. The system of clause 1, wherein the information about thematerial includes information about the destination of the material.

Clause 7. The system of clause 1, further comprising an image processingsubsystem for documenting the nature of the material in the container.

Clause 8. The system of clause 7, wherein the server for the processingfacility associates the information about the nature of the materialwith the information about the origination and handling of the containerfor the batch of material.

Clause 9. The system of clause 1, further comprising a scale fordetermining a weight of the material.

Clause 10. The system of clause 1, wherein the information about thematerial comprises at least one of: a type of the material, acomposition of the material, an owner of the facility that produced thematerial, a time of origination of the material, a transporter of thematerial, a time of transportation of the material, an image of thewaste material, a weight of the waste material, a temperature of thewaste material, a volume of the waste material, and a location ofhandling of the waste material.

Recycling Organics and Handling Materials not Recycled Today (Waste)

While recycling of certain materials such as cardboard and plastic iswell known, the recycling of organic material on a large scale isrelatively new. It is being driven by regulatory initiatives,sustainability goals, economics, and the like. Organics may be divertedto composting facilities, animal agriculture facilities, energyfacilities, landfills, and the like. However, each may have certainquality requirements, such as requirements relating to contaminationlevels of non-organic materials, age of materials, level of bio-decay,volatile organic compound VOC) emissions and the like. Additionally, atransporter or a distribution center may have certain requirementsregarding moisture and odor containment, and the like, for organicwaste.

It may be desirable to assess compliance by a source location 102 withvarious regulations. Images using one or more radiation bands may becaptured for each unit of material 104 as it enters the system.Depending on the type of image captured, the image may be evaluated forcontamination. Evaluation may be done manually, or through use ofvarious image-processing techniques. Images may be taken using differentwavelengths of radiation such as infrared, UV and the like, whereorganic and inorganic material will be imaged quite differently. Sourcelocations may be provided feedback with respect to units not meetingcontamination standards and may be provided instruction on improvingquality. Source locations may be charged a fee or a reduction of creditwith respect to units of material that fail to comply with qualityregulations. FIG. 6 shows a dashboard with images of contaminatedorganic waste units to provide supporting evidence of contamination aswell as to enhance understanding of violations such as by highlight,marking or otherwise drawing attention to the contamination.Additionally, thermal imaging of a unit of material may provideinformation on the age of the contents of the unit of material as theorganic material may increase in temperature (and correspondingbrightness) with the age of the material and the extent ofdecomposition.

An issue with the transportation of organic material and waste is theneed to limit seepage of liquid and odors from decomposition. In someinstances, a container (bin) may be designed to be watertight. In someinstances, a liner may be used to prevent seepage and reduce odors. Insome embodiments, delivery packaging, such as boxes and containers inwhich the material is delivered, may be used to hold organic materialfor recycling and waste disposal. In a non-limiting example, as shown inFIGS. 7A-7B, restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, and other locations wherelarge amounts of coffee are consumed might reuse the delivery packaging(containers 702 in which the coffee was delivered to the site) or otheravailable containers for collecting and disposing of the coffee grounds704. Once the coffee container has been emptied, it may have anidentifying label applied, be filled with used coffee grounds, sealed(FIG. 7B) and sent back for recycling.

In another non-limiting example, a source location may reuse largecontainers or bins. These containers or bins may be stockpiled at thestore. These containers or bins may include collapsible sleeves orboxes, which are delivered to the store as part of a regular shipment ofgoods or these may be containers or bins in which other products oritems were delivered. With reference to FIGS. 8A-8F, a bin may include acollapsible sleeve 802, which may fold flat such as shown in FIG. 8A forshipment to the store, together with a special pallet bin base 804, suchas shown in FIG. 8B. Once a flat collapsible sleeve 802 is received, itmay be opened such as shown in FIG. 8C and inserted in the specialpallet bin base 804, as shown in FIGS. 8D-8E. The collapsible sleeve802, may have various features that allow it, when open, to interface ornest with features on the pallet bin base 804 to align and hold the twocomponents together for receipt and transport of waste or recyclablematerials. In embodiments, an opened sleeve is easily inserted in andremoved from the base. A liner 806 may be inserted in the collapsiblesleeve for receiving waste or recyclable materials. Together, theassembled collapsible sleeve 802 and special pallet bin base 804 may bereferred to herein as a bin or container.

As shown in FIG. 8B, the special pallet bin base 804 may be continuouswith a continuous bottom surface (having no holes) and side wallsforming one or more reservoirs 816, such that any holes in a liner 806allow leaked material to be contained within a reservoir 816 of thepallet bin base. The bin base 804 may include one or more elevatedsurfaces 808 to hold the bin materials above the bottom surface of thebase, wherein the elevated surface may cover only a portion of theentire base, to reduce the amount of material otherwise required to forma pallet bin base. The elevated surface 808 may include drainagechannels 807 for aiding in drainage of liquid from the material in thebin into the reservoirs 816. This may improve sanitation within thestore relative to standard pallets where the liquid would otherwise beable to leak into the surrounding area. The special pallet bin base 804may include edge channels 803 between the outer edge of the base and theelevated surface 808 for receiving and constraining the collapsiblesleeve 802. The edge channels 803 may include lips or ledges 817 forholding the sleeve 802 above the bottom of the reservoirs 816 in orderto prevent the sleeve from contacting material in the reservoir(provided such material is below the edge of the collapsible sleeve802). The reservoirs 816 may be interconnected to allow liquid to flowbetween them and settle to a low level to provide improved basestability. There may be one or more of an RFID tag and a GPS trackerembedded or attached to the special pallet bin base 804.

FIG. 8J illustrates the underside of an exemplary base 804, showingunderside channels 801 formed between feet 811 in order to facilitatemovement of the bin via forklift, as explained below.

The collapsible sleeve 802 may be made of thin, lightweight plastic,such as shown in FIG. 8A, or cardboard, such as shown in FIG. 8C, or thelike. The collapsible sleeve 802 may be sufficiently strong to holdanother full bin stacked on top of it, such as during transport or priorto processing. A collapsible sleeve 802 made of cardboard may, inembodiments, be approximately 0.5 inches thick, and the interior orexterior or both may have a coating, such as a waxed coating, to protectthe collapsible sleeve 802 from the contents of the bin, such as foodwaste, associated liquids, and the like. A collapsible sleeve 802 madeof thin lightweight plastic may be approximately 3/16 to 7/16 inchesthick. The use of plastic rather than cardboard may make the collapsiblesleeve more robust and easier to clean. In such embodiments, the plasticof the collapsible sleeve 802 may have a corrugated interior structureto provide strength and rigidity. A plastic collapsible sleeve 802 mayhave rolled edges to provide a smooth edge, which may reduce thepotential for tears and rips to a bin liner from the edge of thecollapsible sleeve. The rolled edge may reduce the potential of cuts tothe hands of those handling the collapsible sleeve 802. The rolled edgemay provide a seal against liquids entering the interior of the plasticcollapsible sleeve 802 and reduce the potential of contamination.

In embodiments, such as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8C, the collapsible sleeve802 may have cutouts 812 for aiding in the attachment of the sleeve tothe base 804 as more fully described below. In the case of a cardboardbase, the cutouts 812 may include a reinforcement portion 813 forpreventing tearing of the cardboard around the cutout. The cutouts 812may be on two or more sides of the sleeve, and may be placed both at thetop and bottom of the sleeve for reversibility of the sleeve.

In embodiments, the collapsible sleeve 802 may have notches 805 in thebottom edges (and also at the top edges for reversibility of the sleeve)to rest within pallet bin base 804, while accommodating the elevatedsurfaces 808 of base 804, such as in the case of a base 804 without edgechannel 803, such as shown in FIG. 8J. The notches 805 may improve thestability of the collapsible sleeve 802 when assembled together with thespecial pallet bin base 804. The combination of the notches 805 in thecollapsible sleeve 802 and/or the edge channels 803 in the specialpallet bin base 804 of FIG. 8B may facilitate “locking” the collapsiblesleeve 802 into its position on the special pallet bin base 804. Thelength that the collapsible sleeve 802 extends downwards from the upperedge of the notches 805 may be less than the depth of the reservoirs soas to limit contact between the collapsible sleeve 802 and any liquidwhich may collect in the reservoirs of the special pallet bin base 804.

In embodiments, the collapsible sleeve 802 may have flat, un-notched,top and bottom edges and be substantially vertically symmetrical. Thevertical symmetry may facilitate assembly of the collapsible sleeve 802with the pallet base 804 at the origination site, as the collapsiblesleeve may be inserted into the pallet base 804 in either of twovertical orientations. The flat edges of the collapsible sleeve 802 mayimprove the stability of goods transported on top of aflattened/collapsed sleeve sitting on a pallet bin base 802. The absenceof notches on the bottom edge of the collapsible sleeve 802 will enablethe opened collapsible sleeve to sit higher in the special pallet binbase 804, potentially creating a larger bin for accepting waste.

The collapsible sleeve 802 may comprise one or more of an RFID tag, aGPS tracker or other tracking device. In embodiments, the collapsiblesleeve 802 may have a location indicator for placement of an RFID tag,GPS tracker and the like such that the marker will be positioned so asto facilitate access by a label reader.

When collapsed, the collapsible sleeve 802 and special pallet bin base804 may occupy a small amount of space; for example, in one embodimentthey may, together, occupy less than 7 cubic feet. The collapsiblesleeve 802 may be collapsible with a z-fold such that, lying flat, itmay be contained within the outer edges of the pallet bin base 804.Together the collapsible sleeve 802 and pallet bin base 804 may beadapted to function as a pallet for transportation of goods. The palletbin base 804 may be adapted to facilitate its transport using a forkliftof pallet jack. Goods for delivery may be stacked on top of thecollapsed sleeve 802 and pallet bin base 804. This compact form, whichis comparable in scale to a typical wooden shipping pallet, mayfacilitate low cost or essentially cost-free shipping of the bin.

Further, there may be a locking mechanism 810, as shown in FIGS. 8G, 8H,and 8J, on the special pallet bin base 804, which interacts with acutout 812 on the collapsible sleeve 802, to lock the collapsible sleeve802 to the base. In this case, the locking mechanism is movable back andforth from the bottom of the bin (using one's finder in the hole shownin locking mechanism 810 in FIG. 8J) to engage with the cutout. As notedabove, in the case of a cardboard sleeve, the cutout 812 may bereinforced with a reinforcement portion 813 such as an edge made ofplastic, rubber or the like to strengthen the collapsible sleeve 802 atthe location of the cutout 812, while a plastic sleeve may not needreinforcement along a cutout.

The bin may be emptied via dumping it, such as with a forklift clamp,hydraulic tipper, or other dumping mechanism. There may be a modifiedclamp adapted to hold the bin and retain the bin when the contents ofthe bin are dumped. The clamp may be adapted to rotate on the forkliftto facilitate tipping or dumping of the bin. Once the contents have beendumped, the components of the bin, the collapsible sleeve 802, specialpallet bin base 804 and optional cover 814, such as shown in FIG. 8I,may be cleaned and the sleeve 802 collapsed for reuse. The cover mayinclude hinges 815 so as to allow the cover to be opened along an axisof the cover. The components of the bin may be recyclable.

In embodiments, the special pallet bin base 804 may be approximately 40inches by 48 inches to fit standard grocery pallet jacks or forklifts.The underside channels 801 between the feet 811 may be at least 10inches wide to accommodate tandem pallet jacks. The bin may be movedaround inside the store with a standard pallet-jack, to where waste isbeing generated at a given time, such as fruit cutting stations or saladbars. This may provide improved convenience relative to other organicwaste receptacles. While the special pallet bin base 804 may replace awooden pallet, it may be stacked on top of a wooden pallet. Thedimensions given above are exemplary and it should be understood thatthe dimensions of the special pallet bin base 804 may be varied toaccommodate the fork and pallet sizes specific to a particulardistribution system.

There may be a cover 814 which may be placed on top of the assembledcollapsible sleeve 802. The cover 814 may be a single, contiguouscomponent. The cover may comprise an exterior frame that fits over theedge of the collapsible sleeve 802 and a hinged interior portion, whichmay be opened to add waste material and remain closed at other times toreduce odor. The exterior frame may distribute the weight if a containerof waste is rested in the edge of the collapsible sleeve when the wasteis being added to the bin. The cover 814 may facilitate stacking offilled bins for transport.

The collapsible sleeve may be collapsible with a Z-fold such that it maylie flat on top of the pallet bin base 804 or within the cover 814 andbe contained within the pallet's edges, which may extend approximatelyone inch vertically above the interior surface. Thus, when the sleeve iscollapsed and placed on top of the pallet base 804, other products andgoods may be stacked on top of the collapsible sleeve. This mayfacilitate return of the collapsible sleeve to a waste origination sitefor reuse. For transport of empty bins to the origination source, thecollapsible sleeve 802 may fit inside the cover 814 and together theymay be strapped to the pallet bin base 804. In some embodiments, thecomponents may be strapped together in the order: pallet bin base 804,cover 814, and collapsible sleeve 802, while in others they may bestrapped together in the order: pallet bin base 804, collapsible sleeve802, and cover 814.

The liner 806 may be used to protect the bin components, containpotential liquids and odors, and maintain sanitation in all settingswhile the bin is full. The liner 806 may be clear to allow visibility ofthe bin contents when it is tied over the contents. The liner 806 mayinclude a masking odor or other odor-blocking technology. Additionally,the liner may comprise enzymes to slow or speed up degradation of theorganic waste deposited within the liner 806. The liner 806 may be of asufficient height such that, when applied inside the assembledcollapsible bin 802, the liner 806 extends outside far enough beyond theedge of the bin that it may be twisted or tied over the bin contents. Inone embodiment the liner is at least 96 inches long. In some embodimentsthe liner 806 may be a one-time use liner. In other embodiments theliner 806 may be reused for this purpose after enclosing a stack ofbanana boxes or other materials intended to be sold in supermarkets. Theliner 806 may be embedded with one or more of an RFID tag or a GPStracker.

The liner may be sent directly to the store. The liner may have anidentifying label 108 incorporated or attached to the liner 806. Somegoods such as banana and other fruit, seafood and the like are shippedwith a liner to protect freshness. These liners may be reused as linersfor the collapsible sleeve 802.

Illustrative Clauses

In some implementations, there may be a device for transporting waste orrecyclable materials as described in the following clauses and asillustrated in FIGS. 8A-8I.

Clause 1. A device for transporting waste or recyclable material, thedevice comprising: a base; and a collapsible sleeve movable between anopen state and a collapsed state, wherein the collapsible sleeve in theopen state interfaces in a nesting manner with the base to form a binfor receiving and transporting waste material.

Clause 2. The device of clause 1, wherein the collapsible sleeve, whenin the collapsed state, and the base are adapted to function as a palletfor transportation of goods.

Clause 3. The device of clause 1, wherein the base has an interfaceadapted to allow the device to be lifted by at least one of: a fork liftand a pallet jack.

Clause 4. The device of clause 1, wherein the base comprises anattachment mechanism to secure the collapsible sleeve in the open stateto the base.

Clause 5. The device of clause 1, wherein the collapsible sleevecomprises at least one of plastic and cardboard material.

Clause 6. The device of clause 1, wherein the collapsible sleeve iscollapsible with a z-fold such that it may be contained within the outeredges of the base.

Clause 7. The device of clause 1, wherein the collapsed state of thecollapsible sleeve, allows the base and the collapsed sleeve to betransported together like a standard wooden palette.

Clause 8. The device of clause 1, further comprising a cover, whereinthe cover is integral to or separate from the collapsible sleeve andfits on top of the open collapsible sleeve.

Clause 9. The device of clause 8, wherein the base, the open collapsiblesleeve and the cover together are stackable on another similar device.

Clause 10. The device of clause 8, wherein the collapsible sleeve, whenin the collapsed state, fits within the cover.

Clause 11. The device clause 8, wherein the collapsible sleeve, when inthe collapsed state, and the cover fit within the outer edges of thebase for transport.

Clause 12. The device of claim 8, wherein the collapsible sleeve, whenin the collapsed state, the cover, and the base are attachable togetherfor transport.

Clause 13. The device of clause 8, wherein the cover comprises anexterior frame that fits over a peripheral edge of the open collapsiblesleeve and a hinged interior portion.

Clause 14. The device of clause 1, wherein the base forms a reservoirfor containing a liquid portion of the waste material.

Clause 15. The device of clause 1, wherein the reservoir comprises oneor more channels.

Clause 16. The device of clause 15, wherein the one or more channelscomprise a plurality of channels along an exterior edge of the base,each of the plurality of channels having a corresponding lip.

Clause 17. The device of clause 15, wherein the collapsible sleeve hasnotches in bottom edges to accommodate the plurality of channels.

Clause 18. The device of clause 1, further comprising a disposable lineradapted to be disposed within the open collapsible sleeve to providelining for the interior of the bin.

Clause 19. The device of clause 1, wherein the collapsible sleeve has anopening to accommodate an attachment mechanism of the base.

Clause 20. The device of clause 1, wherein the collapsible sleevecomprises a location indicator for placement of at least one of an RFIDtag, a GPS tracker and an asset tracker.

Clause 21. The device of clause 1, wherein at least the interior of thecollapsible sleeve is coated by a wax coating.

Clause 22. The device of clause 1, further comprising at least one of anRFID tag, a GPS tracker and an asset tracker.

Clause 23. The device of clause 1, wherein the base and the collapsiblesleeve are adapted for repeated use as a bin for transporting waste orrecyclable material.

With reference to FIG. 9, a method 900 of reusing these collapsiblecontainers includes a number of steps:

First, a stack is unloaded from delivery trailer (Step 912). A stack ofgoods with a pallet bin base is unloaded from a delivery trailer alongwith other goods for delivery to the store. This typically occurs in theback room of a store, such as on a loading/unloading dock.

Next a sleeve may be separated from stack of goods (Step 914). The goodsmay be unloaded from off the top of the pallet bin base 804, and thecollapsed sleeve 802 may be retrieved from the bottom of the stack.

Next, the liner may be assembled and added (Step 916). The collapsedsleeve 802 may be assembled and placed on the pallet bin base 804. Aliner 806 may be inserted into the open sleeve 802 on the pallet binbase 804. The store may have a supply of liners 806 for this use.

Next, the lined sleeve 802 may be filled as necessary (step 918). Foodwaste and other organic material may be added to the assembled and linedsleeve 802 as it is generated throughout the day.

Next, the label may be applied (Step 919). An identifying label 108 maybe applied to the liner bag or the assembled sleeve 802 when the bin issealed. In some instances an identifying label may be incorporated intothe liner bag. As noted above, the label 108 may capture various othertypes of information about the material, the owner, the store, theindividual working with the bin, and the like.

Next the bin may be loaded into the return trailer (Step 920). Once theassembled sleeve 802 has been filled and sealed it may be loaded into atrailer along with other recyclable materials to be returned to acentral warehouse.

Next, the bin is unloaded from a return trailer (Step 922). Once thetrailer has returned to the central warehouse/distribution center thefully assembled sleeve 802, otherwise known as a unit of material 104,is unloaded into the warehouse.

Next, the label is read, the unit may be weighted and an image captured(Step 924). Once the unit of material 104 has been unloaded a reader 112may read the identifying information on the sleeve 802 or liner 806.Additional data may be captured such as weight and images and that dataassociated with the unique ID of the identifying label 108 identified bythe reader.

Next, the bin is dumped with the forklift clamp (Step 926). Theassembled sleeve 802 and liner 806 may then be dumped for processing,composting and the like. A special clamp to maneuver the assembledsleeve 802 and liner 806 without damage may be used as discussedelsewhere herein.

Next the empty bin is collapsed (Step 928). After the contents have beendumped, the empty sleeve 802 may be collapsed or folded.

Next, the pallet bin base 804 is used as the pallet base (Step 930). Thecollapsed sleeve 802 is placed flat on top of the pallet bin base 804.Outgoing goods are then loaded onto the pallet bin base 804 andcollapsed sleeve 802 as shown in FIG. 10.

Next, the stack is loaded into delivery trailer (Step 932). The stack ofgoods is loaded into an outgoing trailer to a store where the cycle willbegin again with unloading the stack from the delivery trailer (Step912).

In some cases, a store may reuse shipping containers in which theyreceive goods such as watermelon bins, pumpkin bins, potato bins, andthe like. These bins carry goods to the store and, once emptied, mayhave a liner inserted and be used for collecting food waste, organicwaste, trash and the like to be backhauled to the distribution centerfor disposal. After dumping out the liner filled with organic waste,these bins may be folded and sent back to the store for reuse as acollection bin. Unlike the collapsible sleeve 802, these bins typicallydo not fold flat and may be inserted among the pallets of goods on thetruck, either on edge between pallets or lying on top of the loadedpallets.

With reference to FIG. 11A, a method 1110 of reusing these shippingcontainers includes:

First, goods and collapsed bins are unloaded from delivery trailer (Step1102)

Next, a bin is emptied and a liner added to the bin (Step 1104). Goodsare emptied from a large bin such as a watermelon bin and a liner isinserted into the bin. This bin may be newly delivered or one alreadypresent in the store. The liner may be new or it may be a reused producebag such as a banana bag. In some instance, the new liners may comprisean RFID tag for an identifying label 108.

In some instances, a collapsed bin may be reassembled and a bin lineradded (Step 1106). In some instances, collapsed previously used productbins 1122 may be part of the received shipment as shown in FIGS.11B-11C. These boxes may be unloaded from the truck, assembled and aliner inserted.

Next, a reused product bin 1122 is filled as necessary (Step 1108). Oncethe bin is lined, organic material and waste may be placed into the binfor disposal (FIG. 11D).

Next, the liner is sealed and a label applied (Step 1110). Once the binis full, the liner is sealed and a label applied. The label may beapplied to the liner or the container. The label may be incorporatedinto the liner.

Next, the bin is loaded onto a return trailer (Step 1112). The full binswith the sealed liners are loaded into the truck to be hauled to thedistribution center.

Next the bin is unloaded from return trailer (Step 1114). Upon arrivalat the distribution center, the full bins are unloaded from the trailer.

Next, the label is read and additional data captured (Step 1112). At thedistribution center, the identifying label 108 may be read for each binand additional data captured such as weight, an image, and the like.

Next, the bin is dumped with special forklift clamp (Step 1114). The binmay then be emptied into the appropriate disposal stream. A specialforklift clamp may be used to prevent damage to the liner.

Next, the product bin is collapsed (Step 1118). The now empty bin may becollapsed for return to the store.

Next, the collapsed bin is loaded into delivery trailer together withgoods for the store (Step 1120). The collapsed bin may be loaded intothe deliver trailer for reuse at the store.

Smart Forklifts

In some embodiments, many of the features of the above described systemmay be incorporated into a forklift, fork truck, hand truck, pallet jackand the like. This combination will be referenced as a smart forklift inthe ensuing description but it should be understood to include othervariations of equipment for hoisting and transporting heavy and/or bulkyobjects, whether carried on a pallet or not. The incorporation of thesefeatures with a piece of machinery (e.g. a hopper, a receiving trailer,and the like) already typically used in many distribution centers mayfacilitate introduction of the methods and systems of this disclosureinto existing warehouses and distribution centers while minimizingworkflow This set of features, described hereafter as a smart forkliftsystem, may include at least one of an RFID reader, a bar code scanner,a QR code scanner and the like together. The smart forklift system mayinclude a logic and data storage module for associating and storing aunique ID from an identifying label 108 on a unit of material 104 withreceived data characterizing the same unit of material 104. The smartforklift system may include a communications module for transmitting thestored data to a centralized location such as an analysis system 110.The smart forklift system may include one or more sensors for obtainingdata about the unit of material such as such as a scale, GPS tracker,thermal sensors, noise sensors, imaging sensors for various wavelengths,and the like. The smart forklift system may include a power managementsystem, a reserve battery, one or more antennas, power interfacedevices, and the like. In some instances, the majority of the smartforklift system components may be situated in a single enclosureattached to the smart forklift. In some instances, some systemcomponents such as a scale, a reader, an imaging system and the like,may be located apart from the smart forklift but in communication withthe smart forklift system. A smart forklift system may be designed tooperate automatically with little or no additional input from theoperator of the smart forklift beyond that required for the operation ofa standard forklift.

In the following illustrative example, a smart forklift system (FIGS.12A-12E) may include an enclosure 1202 comprising a logic and datastorage module 1206, a power management module 1204, a communicationsmodule 1208, an RFID reader 1210, a reserve battery 1212, and the like.The logic and data storage module 1206 may comprise a single chipcomputer on a PCB, one or more data ports for communicating with theRFID reader 1210, an imaging system 1224 and other sensors, and memory.The RFID reader 1210 may be connected to an external RFID antenna 1222which may be positioned so as to achieve the best signal for reading anidentifying label 108 on the unit of material 104 being transported.

The smart forklift system may include a communications module 1208.

The communications module 1208 may have the ability to wirelesslycommunicate information to a remote server or analysis system 110. Thecommunication module 1208 may utilize one of a short range wirelesscommunications system such as wireless USB, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, WiFiand others or long range wireless communications systems such as 2G, 3G,LTE and other cellular communications technologies. The communicationsmodule 1208 may be located within the enclosure while having aconnection to an externally mounted antenna 1220 to provide adequatesignal strength and coverage. The throughput of the communicationsmodule 908 may be co-optimized with the capacity of the reserve batteryto assure the ability to upload an entire shift's worth of data afterpower down of the forklift.

In embodiments a scale may be integrated into the smart forklift system.In some instances the scale may be integrated with the forks on whichthe load, e.g. a unit of material 104, sits. In some instances, thescale may utilize a pressure gauge 1230 attached to the hydraulics usedto raise and lower the load. The pressure required to raise and lowerthe forks may vary with the weight of material on the forks. Thepressure gage 1230 may be designed to transmit pressure data to thelogic and data storage module 1206 at a frequency and resolutiondesigned to provide adequate weight differentiation when processed bythe logic and data storage module 1206. As the forklift moves with theload there may be some level of variability in the mast hydraulics andthe associated pressure data transmitted. Therefore, the transmissionrate may be chosen so as to assure that weight data is capturedthroughout to allow for processing or filtering of the pressure data toincrease the accuracy of the measurement. The pressure gauge 1230 mayinclude a local analog to digital (A-to-D) converter or the A-to-Dconverter may be located within the enclosure, incorporated into one ofthe logic and data storage module 1206, the power management module1204, and the like. Thus, a pressure gauge 1230 may provide theinformation necessary for the logic and data storage module 1206 tocalculate weight based on pressure used to raise and lower a unit ofmaterial 104.

The smart forklift may include one or more sensors such as thermalsensors, noise sensors, imaging systems 1224 for various wavelengths,and the like. The speed of the computer and the size of the memory ofthe logic and data storage module 1206 may be variable to allow forcustomization of the system for its intended environment includingfactors such as the number of images anticipated per unit of material,store ID, and the like, the type and resolution of the images, thefrequency of uploading of the images, the number of pictures per shiftand per day, the desired safety margin in terms of retaining pictures onsystem, and the like. As an illustrative example, close to 4 GB ofmemory would be needed to support a smart forklift in a warehousesupporting 400 stores, where the expectation was that there would beabout three images per store per day with each image being about 800 KBand an ability to store four days worth of pictures in the logic anddata storage module 1206.

The smart forklift components may draw power by connecting directly tothe forklift power adapter 1232. When the forklift is running the smartforklift components may draw power from the forklift power adapter 1232and charge a reserve battery 1212. There may be a set of rules thatgoverns when and how power may be drawn from the primary forklift poweradapter 1232. These rules may include charging the reserve battery 1212when the primary battery charge exceeds a predefined level, charging thereserve battery 1212 when the forklift is plugged into a power source,and the like. When the forklift is shut off the smart forkliftcomponents may draw power from the reserve battery 1212 to completeoperations, such as conveying information to the analytic server,backing up information, performing self diagnostics, and the like. Thereserve battery 1212 may be one of lithium ion, a fuel cell, and thelike.

The enclosure may include LED status lights 1228 to indicate status ofthe smart forklift system (e.g. red for scale being read, yellow forRFID tag being red, green for communication with the remote server).Access to the enclosures internal components may be limited byspecialized tool (screwdriver, etc.).

The smart forklift system enclosure 1202 may be positioned on the smartforklift in a location that minimizes its susceptibility to damage, suchas adjacent to or on interior elements of the frame. The smart forkliftsystem enclosure 1202 may be mounted on the forklift such that it doesnot obstruct the operator's field of view or violate OSHA and/orforklift manufacturer requirements. In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS.13A-13B the enclosure 1202 may be placed above the driver enclosure1302.

In some cases placement of the RFID antenna 1222 may be important toachieving reliable readings while protecting the antenna from physicaldamage. An antenna 1222 placed as shown in FIG. 14A, inside the driverenclosure 1302, may be problematic in some cases, as the large metalsupports of the forklift mast 1402, positioned between the antenna 1222and the unit of material 104 and the associated identifying label 108,may interfere with the ability of the antenna 1222 to detect asufficient signal to enable an RFID Reader to detect the RFID basedidentifying labels 108. Alternately, an antenna 1222 that is positionedbetween the metal masts 1402 of the forklift, as shown in FIG. 14B, maybe able to detect the RFID identifying labels 108 with more reliability.Furthermore, positioning the RFID antenna 1222 between the metal masts1402 of the forklift 1404 may provide some physical protection as themetal masts may prevent physical damage to the antenna 1222 duringnormal operations. The field of view or wave shape of the antenna wouldbe selected based on the position on the forklift to prevent signalattenuation.

For RFID antennas 1222 located on a smart forklift, an identifying label108 attached to a unit of material 104 may be expected to be located ina particular direction relative to the RFID antenna 1222, such that itmay desirable to use a directional antenna aligned to focus its cone ofavailable energy on the location where the identifying label 108 isanticipated rather than use an omnidirectional antenna where the energyis distributed evenly over a sphere. Depending on the type of materialto be handled by the smart forklift one or more RFID antennas 1222 maybe positioned on the smart forklift where different antennas 1222 areoptimized for different potential materials. For example, organics andcardboard may have different reflective and absorption profiles and thuswould interact differently with antennas designed for differentoperating frequencies. It may be possible to optimize the RFID antenna1222 for reading identifying labels 108 attached to units of material104 of a particular material type. Thus, for a smart forklift designedto work with multiple materials it may be desirable to have more thanone antenna 1222, each antenna 1222 optimized for a particular materialtype.

A smart forklift may have a user interface through which informationabout the system operation such as read status, data read, batterystatus, status and error messages associated with the various systemcomponents and sensors, and the like may be communicated to the operatorof the smart forklift. In addition to information about the smartforklift system, the user interface may display information from ananalytic system regarding larger system topics, such as a cumulativeloading calculator that would instruct the operator of the need to stoploading onto a particular truck as its maximum weight has been reached,the need to move to a new dumpster as total capacity has been reached,and the like. This ability to receive overall system information whileloading a trailer may reduce occurrences of overloading a trailer,weighing the trailer and discovering that the trailer is overweight orhaving to partially unload the trailer to comply with weightrestrictions. In some instances, the user interface may include theability for the operator to enter additional information such as generalnotations about the unit of measurement, filling in information in theevent of a failed read, noting if a unit of recyclable material includedcontaminants, noting if a unit of organics failed to include a liner,and the like. This information may be used to flag a unit for additionalreview or processing. In addition to a user interface, there may be anadditional manually operated reader such as a handheld scanner, smartphone, and the like with which an operator might read the identifyinglabel 108 in the event of a failure by the standard reader 112.

A smart forklift may include a special clamp optimized for specializedunits of material 104. For example, a clamp may be optimized to handlethe containers 702 of recycled coffee grounds. In another example, thespecialized clamp may be designed to hold a recycled sleeve 802 andliner to dump out the liner containing the waste while retaining thesleeve 802 for subsequent reuse. In an illustrative example of aspecialized forklift clamp as shown in FIGS. 16A-16C the forks 1604 maybe lowered relative to the sides of the clamp 1602 to expand theintervening gap 1608 by about one inch. The sides of the clamp 1602 maybe adjusted such that they angle inward toward the bin being transportedwith distance from the forks 1604. The incline may be created using ashim 1608 as shown in FIG. 16B. The angle prevents the bin from fallingin when the contents, such as a liner 806 filled with garbage, foodwaste and the like is dumped. The maximum pressure produced by the clampmay be reduced to minimize damage to cardboard bins. There may beadjustable stops on the clamp that enable an operator to set a minimumdistance between the clamp walls to limit damage to the reusable bins.

Illustrative Clauses

In some implementations, information about smart forklifts for trackingwaste and recycle materials in the following clauses, and as illustratedin FIGS. 13A-B, 14A-B, 15A-C, and 16A-C.

Clause 1. A forklift system adapted to collect and report informationabout items handled by a forklift, the system comprising: a forklift; anRFID reader with at least one antenna positioned at least one of on andin proximity to the forklift, wherein the at least one antenna of theRFID reader is positioned to read RFID information from at least oneRFID tag positioned on an item handled by the forklift; a device formeasuring a parameter indicative of the weight of the item handled bythe forklift; and a processing facility with a server for associatingthe information read by the RFID reader and the parameter indicative ofthe weight of the item.

Clause 2. The system of clause 1, wherein the server further associatesthe information from the RFID reader with timestamp information thatindicates a time of the handling of the item by the forklift.

Clause 3. The system of clause 1, wherein the device for measuring theparameter indicative of the weight of the item is at least one of adrive-on scale and a drive-through scale.

Clause 4. The system of clause 1, wherein the device for measuring theparameter indicative of the weight of the item is positioned on theforklift.

Clause 5. The system of clause 4, wherein the parameter indicative ofthe weight of the item is at least one operating parameter of at leastone operating system of the forklift.

Clause 6. The system of clause 5, wherein the at least one operatingparameter is at least one of a pressure associated with a lifting systemof the forklift, a load measured in the lifting system of the forklift,a power requirement of a power system of the forklift, and an operatingparameter of a motor of the forklift.

Clause 7. The system of clause 1, further comprising a communicationsfacility of the forklift for communicating the information captured byat least one of the RFID reader and the device for measuring weight tothe server.

Clause 8. The system of clause 1, further comprising a camera forcapturing an image of the item handled by the forklift, wherein at leastone of the captured image and information from the captured image isassociated with the information captured by the RFID reader.

Clause 9. The system of clause 8, wherein a communications facilitycommunicates at least one of the captured image and information from thecaptured image to the server.

While only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that manychanges and modifications may be made thereunto without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present disclosure as described in thefollowing claims. All patent applications and patents, both foreign anddomestic, and all other publications referenced herein are incorporatedherein in their entireties to the full extent permitted by law.

The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or inwhole through a machine that executes computer software, program codes,and/or instructions on a processor. The processor may be part of aserver, cloud server, client, network infrastructure, mobile computingplatform, stationary computing platform, or other computing platform. Aprocessor may be any kind of computational or processing device capableof executing program instructions, codes, binary instructions and thelike. The processor may be or include a signal processor, digitalprocessor, embedded processor, microprocessor or any variant such as aco-processor (math co-processor, graphic co-processor, communicationco-processor and the like) and the like that may directly or indirectlyfacilitate execution of program code or program instructions storedthereon. In addition, the processor may enable execution of multipleprograms, threads, and codes. The threads may be executed simultaneouslyto enhance the performance of the processor and to facilitatesimultaneous operations of the application. By way of implementation,methods, program codes, program instructions and the like describedherein may be implemented in one or more thread. The thread may spawnother threads that may have assigned priorities associated with them;the processor may execute these threads based on priority or any otherorder based on instructions provided in the program code. The processormay include memory that stores methods, codes, instructions and programsas described herein and elsewhere. The processor may access a storagemedium through an interface that may store methods, codes, andinstructions as described herein and elsewhere. The storage mediumassociated with the processor for storing methods, programs, codes,program instructions or other type of instructions capable of beingexecuted by the computing or processing device may include but may notbe limited to one or more of a CD-ROM, DVD, memory, hard disk, flashdrive, RAM, ROM, cache and the like.

A processor may include one or more cores that may enhance speed andperformance of a multiprocessor. In embodiments, the process may be adual core processor, quad core processors, other chip-levelmultiprocessor and the like that combine two or more independent cores(called a die).

The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or inwhole through a machine that executes computer software on a server,cloud server, client, firewall, gateway, hub, router, or other suchcomputer and/or networking hardware. The software program may beassociated with a server that may include a file server, print server,domain server, internet server, intranet server and other variants suchas secondary server, host server, distributed server and the like. Theserver may include one or more of memories, processors, computerreadable media, storage media, ports (physical and virtual),communication devices, and interfaces capable of accessing otherservers, clients, machines, and devices through a wired or a wirelessmedium, and the like. The methods, programs or codes as described hereinand elsewhere may be executed by the server. In addition, other devicesrequired for execution of methods as described in this application maybe considered as a part of the infrastructure associated with theserver.

The server may provide an interface to other devices including, withoutlimitation, clients, other servers, printers, database servers, printservers, file servers, communication servers, distributed servers andthe like. Additionally, this coupling and/or connection may facilitateremote execution of program across the network. The networking of someor all of these devices may facilitate parallel processing of a programor method at one or more location without deviating from the scope ofthe disclosure. In addition, any of the devices attached to the serverthrough an interface may include at least one storage medium capable ofstoring methods, programs, code and/or instructions. A centralrepository may provide program instructions to be executed on differentdevices. In this implementation, the remote repository may act as astorage medium for program code, instructions, and programs.

The software program may be associated with a client that may include afile client, print client, domain client, internet client, intranetclient and other variants such as secondary client, host client,distributed client and the like. The client may include one or more ofmemories, processors, computer readable media, storage media, ports(physical and virtual), communication devices, and interfaces capable ofaccessing other clients, servers, machines, and devices through a wiredor a wireless medium, and the like. The methods, programs or codes asdescribed herein and elsewhere may be executed by the client. Inaddition, other devices required for execution of methods as describedin this application may be considered as a part of the infrastructureassociated with the client.

The client may provide an interface to other devices including, withoutlimitation, servers, other clients, printers, database servers, printservers, file servers, communication servers, distributed servers andthe like. Additionally, this coupling and/or connection may facilitateremote execution of program across the network. The networking of someor all of these devices may facilitate parallel processing of a programor method at one or more location without deviating from the scope ofthe disclosure. In addition, any of the devices attached to the clientthrough an interface may include at least one storage medium capable ofstoring methods, programs, applications, code and/or instructions. Acentral repository may provide program instructions to be executed ondifferent devices. In this implementation, the remote repository may actas a storage medium for program code, instructions, and programs.

The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or inwhole through network infrastructures. The network infrastructure mayinclude elements such as computing devices, servers, routers, hubs,firewalls, clients, personal computers, communication devices, routingdevices and other active and passive devices, modules and/or componentsas known in the art. The computing and/or non-computing device(s)associated with the network infrastructure may include, apart from othercomponents, a storage medium such as flash memory, buffer, stack, RAM,ROM and the like. The processes, methods, program codes, instructionsdescribed herein and elsewhere may be executed by one or more of thenetwork infrastructural elements.

The methods, program codes, and instructions described herein andelsewhere may be implemented on a cellular network having multiplecells. The cellular network may either be frequency division multipleaccess (FDMA) network or code division multiple access (CDMA) network.The cellular network may include mobile devices, cell sites, basestations, repeaters, antennas, towers, and the like. The cell networkmay be a GSM, GPRS, 3G, EVDO, mesh, or other networks types.

The methods, programs codes, and instructions described herein andelsewhere may be implemented on or through mobile devices. The mobiledevices may include navigation devices, cell phones, mobile phones,mobile personal digital assistants, laptops, palmtops, netbooks, pagers,electronic books readers, music players and the like. These devices mayinclude, apart from other components, a storage medium such as a flashmemory, buffer, RAM, ROM and one or more computing devices. Thecomputing devices associated with mobile devices may be enabled toexecute program codes, methods, and instructions stored thereon.Alternatively, the mobile devices may be configured to executeinstructions in collaboration with other devices. The mobile devices maycommunicate with base stations interfaced with servers and configured toexecute program codes. The mobile devices may communicate on a peer topeer network, mesh network, or other communications network. The programcode may be stored on the storage medium associated with the server andexecuted by a computing device embedded within the server. The basestation may include a computing device and a storage medium. The storagedevice may store program codes and instructions executed by thecomputing devices associated with the base station.

The computer software, program codes, and/or instructions may be storedand/or accessed on machine readable media that may include: computercomponents, devices, and recording media that retain digital data usedfor computing for some interval of time; semiconductor storage known asrandom access memory (RAM); mass storage typically for more permanentstorage, such as optical discs, forms of magnetic storage like harddisks, tapes, drums, cards and other types; processor registers, cachememory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory; optical storage such asCD, DVD; removable media such as flash memory (e.g. USB sticks or keys),floppy disks, magnetic tape, paper tape, punch cards, standalone RAMdisks, Zip drives, removable mass storage, off-line, and the like; othercomputer memory such as dynamic memory, static memory, read/writestorage, mutable storage, read only, random access, sequential access,location addressable, file addressable, content addressable, networkattached storage, storage area network, bar codes, magnetic ink, and thelike.

The methods and systems described herein may transform physical and/oror intangible items from one state to another. The methods and systemsdescribed herein may also transform data representing physical and/orintangible items from one state to another, such as from usage data to anormalized usage dataset.

The elements described and depicted herein, including in flow charts andblock diagrams throughout the figures, imply logical boundaries betweenthe elements. However, according to software or hardware engineeringpractices, the depicted elements and the functions thereof may beimplemented on machines through computer executable media having aprocessor capable of executing program instructions stored thereon as amonolithic software structure, as standalone software modules, or asmodules that employ external routines, code, services, and so forth, orany combination of these, and all such implementations may be within thescope of the present disclosure. Examples of such machines may include,but may not be limited to, personal digital assistants, laptops,personal computers, mobile phones, other handheld computing devices,medical equipment, wired or wireless communication devices, transducers,chips, calculators, satellites, tablet PCs, electronic books, gadgets,electronic devices, devices having artificial intelligence, computingdevices, networking equipments, servers, routers and the like.Furthermore, the elements depicted in the flow chart and block diagramsor any other logical component may be implemented on a machine capableof executing program instructions. Thus, while the foregoing drawingsand descriptions set forth functional aspects of the disclosed systems,no particular arrangement of software for implementing these functionalaspects should be inferred from these descriptions unless explicitlystated or otherwise clear from the context. Similarly, it will beappreciated that the various steps identified and described above may bevaried, and that the order of steps may be adapted to particularapplications of the techniques disclosed herein. All such variations andmodifications are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure.As such, the depiction and/or description of an order for various stepsshould not be understood to require a particular order of execution forthose steps, unless required by a particular application, or explicitlystated or otherwise clear from the context.

The methods and/or processes described above, and steps thereof, may berealized in hardware, software or any combination of hardware andsoftware suitable for a particular application. The hardware may includea general purpose computer and/or dedicated computing device or specificcomputing device or particular aspect or component of a specificcomputing device. The processes may be realized in one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers,programmable digital signal processors or other programmable device,along with internal and/or external memory. The processes may also, orinstead, be embodied in an application specific integrated circuit, aprogrammable gate array, programmable array logic, or any other deviceor combination of devices that may be configured to process electronicsignals. It will further be appreciated that one or more of theprocesses may be realized as a computer executable code capable of beingexecuted on a machine readable medium.

The computer executable code may be created using a structuredprogramming language such as C, an object oriented programming languagesuch as C++, or any other high-level or low-level programming language(including assembly languages, hardware description languages, anddatabase programming languages and technologies) that may be stored,compiled or interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as well asheterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures, orcombinations of different hardware and software, or any other machinecapable of executing program instructions.

Thus, in one aspect, each method described above and combinationsthereof may be embodied in computer executable code that, when executingon one or more computing devices, performs the steps thereof. In anotheraspect, the methods may be embodied in systems that perform the stepsthereof, and may be distributed across devices in a number of ways, orall of the functionality may be integrated into a dedicated, standalonedevice or other hardware. In another aspect, the means for performingthe steps associated with the processes described above may include anyof the hardware and/or software described above. All such permutationsand combinations are intended to fall within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

All documents referenced herein are hereby incorporated by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for determining shrinkage of a commoditysold by a store, the method comprising: identifying data indicative of avolume of the commodity supplied to the store for resale or dataindicative of a volume of the commodity sold by the store; associating alabel with a container for waste material or recyclable material at thestore, wherein the waste material or recyclable material includes thecommodity supplied to the store or sold by the store, the labelincluding label information associated with the store or the intendedcontents of the container; collecting the label information with areader and transmitting collected label information to at least oneserver; automatically determining data characterizing the waste materialor recyclable material in the container with the at least one server;associating the label information and the data characterizing the wastematerial or recyclable material in the container with the at least oneserver; and determining, with the at least one server, performance datarelated to the commodity by comparing the data indicative of the volumeof the commodity supplied to the store, the data indicative of thevolume of the commodity sold by the store, and the data characterizingthe waste material or recyclable material in the container.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the data characterizing the waste material orrecyclable material comprises data indicative of a volume of thecommodity in the container.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the dataindicative of the volume of the commodity in the container is a weight.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising utilizing electronic datafrom a camera to automatically determine the data characterizing thewaste material or recyclable material in the container.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising utilizing electronic data comprising weight,the electronic data comprising weight from a scale, to automaticallydetermine the data characterizing the waste material or recyclablematerial in the container.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprisingobtaining, with the at least one server, the performance data of aplurality of stores.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprisingcomparing, with the at least one server, the performance data of each ofthe plurality of stores.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprisingdetermining, with the at least one server, a performance of one of theplurality of stores as compared to another of the plurality of stores.9. The method of claim 8, further comprising ranking, with the at leastone server, the plurality of stores based on the performance data of theplurality of stores.
 10. The method of claim 7, further comprisinggrouping, with the at least one server, a set of the plurality ofstores, determining performance data for the set, and determining theperformance of at least one store as compared to the performance of theset.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising ranking, with the atleast one server, each of the stores in the set based on the performancedata of the plurality of stores that are in the set.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the waste material or recyclable material comprisesorganic material.
 13. A system for determining shrinkage of a commoditysold by a store, the system comprising: a plurality of labels associatedwith a plurality of corresponding containers of waste material orrecyclable material generated at the store, wherein the waste materialor recyclable material includes the commodity supplied to the store orsold by the store, each label including label information associatedwith the store, the corresponding container, or the intended contents ofthe corresponding container; a label reader at a material handling sitethat is remote from the store that collects the label information andtransmits the collected label information to at least one server; adevice at the material handling site that is remote from the store thatcaptures data characterizing the waste material or recyclable materialin the container and transmitting characteristic data to the at leastone server; wherein the at least one server associates the labelinformation and the data characterizing the waste material or recyclablematerial in the container; and wherein the at least one server receivesdata indicative of a volume of the commodity supplied to the store forresale or data indicative of a volume of the commodity sold by thestore, the at least one server determining performance data related tothe commodity by comparing the data indicative of the volume of thecommodity supplied to the store, the data indicative of the volume ofthe commodity sold by the store, and the data characterizing the wastematerial or recyclable material in the container.
 14. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the data characterizing the waste material orrecyclable material comprises data indicative of a volume of thecommodity in the container.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the dataindicative of the volume of the commodity in the container is a weight.16. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one server furtherutilizes electronic data from a camera to automatically determine thedata characterizing the waste material or recyclable material in thecontainer.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one serverfurther utilizes electronic data comprising a weight, the electronicdata comprising the weight from a scale, to automatically determine thedata characterizing the waste material or recyclable material in thecontainer.
 18. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one serverfurther determines performance data of a plurality of stores.
 19. Thesystem of claim 18, wherein the at least one server further compares theperformance data of the plurality of stores.
 20. The system of claim 19,wherein the at least one server further determines a performance of oneof the plurality of stores as compared to another of the plurality ofstores.
 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the at least one serverfurther ranks the plurality of stores based on the performance data ofthe plurality of stores.
 22. The system of claim 19, wherein the atleast one server further groups a set of the plurality of stores,determining performance data for the set, and determines the performanceof at least one store as compared to the performance of the set.
 23. Thesystem of claim 22, wherein the at least one server further ranks eachof the stores in the set based on the performance data of the pluralityof stores that are in the set.
 24. The system of claim 13, wherein thewaste material or recyclable material comprises organic material.